Trade, tax and takeovers — can the European Court de-regulate Europe despite resistance from the Council and Parliament? (p95-107)

Summary: Proposals by the Commission to remove barriers to cross-frontier business activity seem deadlocked by disagreement in the Council or Parliament (e.g. Tax Harmonisation and the Services Directive) or doomed to produce European packaging for business as usual (e.g., the Takeover Directive). It is the Luxembourg Court which maintains the process of de-regulation, and upholds challenges to national rules on banking, tax, and capital structures, which operate as barriers to market entry and reduce the competitiveness of the European market. For those who believe in free markets, these contributions to a competitive Europe are timely and positive.