<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>In paragraph 3 of its Article 3, the Treaty on European Union (TEU) requires the EU to go after the goal of a highly competitive social market economy for the first time. It is noticeable in the aforementioned Treaty clause that although it deals with the EU internal market, its authors burdened it with a mission that is far more socially-oriented than market-oriented. However, is „a highly competitive social market econo-my“ of today a meaningful goal and does the EU in its present form have the project and powers to achieve such an objective? The paper is a combination of economic and legal -political analysis through which the authors try to answer three main questions: What is the contemporary meaning of the term “social market economy” in the both economic and EU-law academic theory? Can the EU within the powers conferred to it positively fulfill such an objective, or can it just approach it by weakening the still pre-vailing tendency towards liberalization and deregulation brought about by the construc-tion of the EU internal market and by the promotion of its freedoms?</p></abstract>

In paragraph 3 of its Article 3, the Treaty on European Union (TEU) requires the EU to go after the goal of a highly competitive social market economy for the first time. It is noticeable in the aforementioned Treaty clause that although it deals with the EU internal market, its authors burdened it with a mission that is far more socially-oriented than market-oriented. However, is „a highly competitive social market econo-my“ of today a meaningful goal and does the EU in its present form have the project and powers to achieve such an objective? The paper is a combination of economic and legal -political analysis through which the authors try to answer three main questions: What is the contemporary meaning of the term “social market economy” in the both economic and EU-law academic theory? Can the EU within the powers conferred to it positively fulfill such an objective, or can it just approach it by weakening the still pre-vailing tendency towards liberalization and deregulation brought about by the construc-tion of the EU internal market and by the promotion of its freedoms?

EU as a Highly Competitive Social Market Economy –Goal, Options, and Reality

ŠKODA AUTO Vysoká Škola o.p.s., Na Karmeli 1457, 293 01, Mladá Boleslav

Review of Economic Perspectives

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

In paragraph 3 of its Article 3, the Treaty on European Union (TEU) requires the EU to go after the goal of a highly competitive social market economy for the...

EU as a Highly Competitive Social Market Economy –Goal, Options, and Reality

Published Online: Jan 29, 2015

Page range: 393 - 410

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/revecp-2015-0006

Keywords
European Union, Lisbon Treaty, social market economy, social policy

© 2014 Václav Šmejkal and Stanislav Šaroch

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

EU as a Highly Competitive Social Market Economy –Goal, Options, and Reality

Published Online: Jan 29, 2015

Page range: 393 - 410

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/revecp-2015-0006

KeywordsEuropean Union, Lisbon Treaty, social market economy, social policy

© 2014 Václav Šmejkal and Stanislav Šaroch

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
European Union, Lisbon Treaty, social market economy, social policy