Labour and Service Market Liberalization in the Enlarged EU (B): The Bolkestein Directive

Published 19 Jan 2007
Reference 5415
Region Europe
Length 24 page(s)
Summary

The case explores some of the conflicts generated by the liberalization of labour and services markets in the European Union (EU) following the post-Communist enlargement in 2004, focusing in particular on the role played by the European Court of Justice as the frequent arbitrator of conflicts over market liberalization in the EU.

Teaching objectives

The two-part case is intended to facilitate an analysis of: - the cleavages and conflicts generated by the prospect of labour and services market liberalization in the post-2004 EU, characterized by greatly increased income disparities between member states; - the scale of the political obstacles to radical market liberalization in the EU; - the critical role historically played by the ECJ as a motor of EU market liberalization; and - the implications of the post-Communist enlargement for the balance of power between labour and business interests in the EU.

Keywords
  • RD0107
  • AR2007
  • AR0607