Trade Regulation and Policy in the EU Internal Market: An Assessment through the Services Directive

Exploring the importance of the EU Services Directive (Directive 2006/123), this book provides an expansive insight into the controversial legislation regulating the internal market in services, whilst examining the challenges of positive harmonisation. In addition, by analysing the functioning and judicial interpretation of the directive, it considers EU trade regulation values and the broader significance of EU regulation in global regulatory standard setting.

The book analyses the directive’s contribution to the fundamental freedoms and to the completion of the internal market, with particular focus on the remit of EU and national regulatory autonomy and general interests protection in the context of positive harmonisation. Through the lens of the directive, the study evaluates the status of EU integration and appraises the resilience of the internal market regulatory paradigm, including the interaction between primary and secondary law and the effectiveness of administrative law reinforcement, for the governance of the modern economy, as well as exploring more broadly the import and international influence of EU trade regulation. The book considers a variety of policy themes, including the relationship between national autonomy and supranational competence; the interaction of economic advancement and related general interests, such as environmental and consumer protection; market harmonisation techniques and enforcement challenges, along with potential mechanisms for regulatory enhancement.

Discussing a central legal and economic framework for the regulation of trade in services, from regulatory, constitutional and policy perspectives, this book will be of significant interest to students, academics, practitioners and officials on European Union policy and law, as well as to anyone interested more generally in business regulation in evolving technological contexts, international trade law and comparative market integration themes.