THE FUTURE DIRECTION OF THE E.U. INTERNAL MARKET: ON VESTED VALUES AND FASHIONABLE MODERNISM


16 Colum. J. Eur. L. 67 (2009)

Inge Govaere, Professor of Eur. Law, Ghent Univ. and Dir. of the Eur. Legal Studies Dep’t, College of Eur. in Brussels

The pending Lisbon Reform Treaty and the 2007 Internal Market Modernization Package both raise new questions with respect to the future direction to be taken by E.U. internal market law. This Article scrutinizes the most likely changes in approach and recalls the core principles of the internal market concept as it has evolved over time. Attention is paid in particular to the potential impact of the current internal market modernization process on other related and potentially conflicting policies, such as social, environmental, or public health policies. It is argued that a more proactive internal market approach in closer association with other policies is well on its way for the years to come and cannot simply be ignored.