Law-Making and Adjudication for the Internal Market: The Role of Economic Reasoning

Abstract

This paper assesses the extent to which economic arguments may or must influence law-making and adjudication related to the internal market of the EU. Therefore, the normative foundations of the internal market as an instrument of EU law are investigated. Consequences in regard to the internal market competence (Article 114 TFEU) and the choice of regulatory level, ie the EU legislature's choice to harmonise or not to harmonise, are discussed. Using various examples related to the EU fundamental freedoms and EU secondary law, it will be shown that there is indeed scope for economically sound arguments and that there is added value to be gained by including them.

Keywords: EU law, internal market, law and economics, economic constitution, choice of regulatory level, fundamental freedoms

JEL Classification: F10, F15, K00, K20, K33