Single market, global competition: regulating the European market in a global economy

Abstract: Development of Europe's single market induces a range of regulatory measures to help the market function effectively and meet policy goals. However, the European market is nested inside a global economy; some rules designed to perfect the single market may generate competitive disadvantages as producers interact outside the European market. How does the EU address this tension? Examining cases of chemicals regulation, the single market in public procurement, and regulation of end-of-life vehicles recycling, this contribution identifies three mechanisms: regulatory accommodation; compliance deficits; and international uploading of EU regulation. The first involves revisions of proposed regulation following objections from organized business interests; the second entails temporary European Commission toleration of non-compliance; and the third consists of efforts to establish global regulation coinciding with single market rules. The distribution of these mechanisms varies across sectors and over time, but reconciliation measures are politically essential to the continued construction of the single market in a global economy.