The relationship between the free movement of goods and the freedom to provide services : an internal market perspective

Abstract

The objective of this dissertation is to analyse the relationship between the scope covered by the provisions dealing with the free movement of goods and the freedom to provide services, in an attempt at understanding the Court's variegated utilization of internal market standards across the freedoms. Accordingly, this study adopts an internal market perspective with the aim of understanding the nature of the forces, interpretative or market-driven, which militate against a meaningful degree of convergence. In this vein, the various theoretical frameworks and interpretative principles propounded throughout the years are pitched against more profound considerations stemming from differences in the Court's vision of the internal market in goods and services. In particular, questions are raised as to whether the greater degree of decentralization characterizing the Court's understanding of the scope covered by Article 34 TFEU may, indeed, be suited for general application across the freedoms.