the Europeanization of the actors in these systems. Despite remaining deficits in the implementation of the four freedoms of the internal market, the Europeanization of the economy is the most advanced. As a result, economic transactions can take place in the entire EU without any significant difference to the domestic context. It does not mean that a homogeneous economic area with an even distribution of economic activity had emerged, that borders do not create additional transaction costs or that economic agents can act on the European scale independently of their seize. It means, however, that the possibility of capital owners to move freely in the entire EU constrains national governments in their economic policy.The Europeanization of the economy is made and institutionalized by a rapidly developing European economic law. Even if again there is no homogenous European legal space and probably there will never be one, the importance of the dynamics of European economic law for the restructuring of political relationships cannot be underestimated. Economic law is not a technical subject; and of interest only for specialized lawyers but is of utmost political importance even if it is not on the agenda of intergovernmental reform conferences (Joerges 1993, 1994, 1996). The analysis of European economic law is a striking illustration of the degree to which the Europeanization of the economy is not a natural process but was created by political actors and even more by allegedly apolitical experts. One major issue in this respect are the social consequences of economic integration caused and institutionalized by economic law. A second, and probably even more important issue is that collective welfare was increased by market enlargement and market liberalization and can so legitimate the disintegrative effects of economic integration. Contrary to the far-reaching Europeanization of the economy and the legal system, politics and society lar...
