The double asymmetry of European integration – Or: why the EU cannot be a social market economy

Judge-made law has played a crucial role in the process of European integration. In the
vertical dimension, it has greatly reduced the range of autonomous policy choices in
the member states, and it has helped to expand the reach of European competences.
At the same time, however, “Integration through Law” does have a liberalizing and deregulatory impact on the socioeconomic regimes of EU member states. This effect is generally compatible with the status quo in liberal market economies, but it tends to undermine the institutions and policy legacies of Continental and Scandinavian social market economies. Given the high consensus requirements of European legislation, this structural asymmetry cannot be corrected through political action at the European level.