Political Economy of European Integration and Competition Policy

The political economy of European integration and competition policy examines how supranational institutions, national governments and private actors shape and regulate cross-border markets within the European Union. Anchoured in the treaties establishing the Single Market, competition policy has evolved from a narrow focus on market liberalisation to a more nuanced regime balancing economic efficiency, social cohesion and strategic autonomy. The European Commission, empowered by bureaucratic discretion and supported by the Court of Justice, enforces antitrust rules, merger control and state aid discipline to prevent market distortion and foster innovation. Member states, particularly the Franco-German axis, influence policy trajectories through intergovernmental bargaining and epistemic networks, resulting in iterative adjustments grounded in administrative learning. Recent pressures—digitalisation, geopolitical competition and sustainability imperatives—have widened the scope of competition policy to address platform power, green transition and industrial resilience, highlighting the EU’s unique capacity for calibrated intervention within an integrated market framework.

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Political Economy of European Integration and Competition Policy publication trend

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Technical terms

Competition policy: A set of rules and enforcement mechanisms designed to prevent anti-competitive practices, ensure market contestability and protect consumer welfare within the EU.

Single Market: The EU’s integrated economic space allowing for the free movement of goods, services, capital and persons, underpinned by harmonised regulations and mutual recognition.

State aid: Financial assistance granted by member states to enterprises, regulated by the Commission to prevent unfair advantages and market distortion.

Merger control: A regulatory procedure through which the Commission reviews proposed corporate mergers and acquisitions to assess and mitigate risks to competition.

Digital sovereignty: The aim to assert EU control over key digital infrastructures, data governance and platform regulation to reduce dependency on non-European providers and safeguard public interests.

References

1. Brandeis in Brussels? Bureaucratic discretion, social learning, and the development of regulated competition in the European Union. Regulation & Governance (2023).
2. Intergovernmentalism in a supranational field: France, Germany, and EU competition policy reform. West European Politics (2024).
3. From Market Liberalism to Public Intervention: Digital Sovereignty and Changing European Union Digital Single Market Governance. JCMS Journal of Common Market Studies (2023).