Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Table of cases
- Introduction
- Part I European economic and social constitutionalism between norms and practices
- Part II Emanations of tensions between economic and social integration
- 5 Circular migration
- 6 European company regulation between economic and social integration
- 7 Services of general economic interest under EU law constraints
- Part III Studying cases of possible tensions
- Bibliography
- Index
7 - Services of general economic interest under EU law constraints
from Part II - Emanations of tensions between economic and social integration
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 July 2011
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Table of cases
- Introduction
- Part I European economic and social constitutionalism between norms and practices
- Part II Emanations of tensions between economic and social integration
- 5 Circular migration
- 6 European company regulation between economic and social integration
- 7 Services of general economic interest under EU law constraints
- Part III Studying cases of possible tensions
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Introduction
In his Opinion in the Federutility case, Advocate General Colomer observed that:
In the early days of the welfare state, certain areas of the economy were set apart from the free market philosophy with the aim of reducing the distance between the ‘dominated lebensraum (living space)’ and the ‘effective lebensraum’. Inspired by ideals which went beyond the strictly economic – enshrined in the time-honoured continental legal concept of service public – state intervention in some sectors was intensified, monopolies were created and regulation was increased. Since the Single European Act, when competition was installed as the new deity on ‘the altar of political ideas’, public service has become an obstacle to be overcome in the name of a liberalisation on which all hopes were pinned. The creation of an open market is the first step of this policy, but once barriers have been removed there remain certain requirements which the market alone is not able to meet. […]
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- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011
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