European Union lawLesson 1 of 3 in the course Internal market

European Single Market: Freedoms, Integration and Participation

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

This lesson introduces the European single market: what it is, who participates, and why it matters. It also traces the key stages in its development.

The European single market, also called the European internal market or common market, is an economic area built around the European Union's member states. Its central purpose is to enable goods, capital, services, and people to move across participating countries under shared rules. These are known as the four freedoms.

All flashcards

What is the European single market?
An economic area in which participating countries seek to enable the movement of goods, capital, services, and people under shared rules.
What are negative integration and positive integration?
Negative integration removes or prohibits restrictive national measures. Positive integration brings national laws and standards closer together through shared rules.
What did the Single European Act contribute?
It reformed EEC decision-making and set a deadline for completing the single market, which was launched on 1 January 1993.
Why can mutual recognition support market integration?
It can require a country to accept goods lawfully produced in another member state, unless a restriction can be justified.
Why does the single market remain a work in progress?
Some sectors still have barriers or incomplete integration, and the EU continues to propose measures to strengthen the market.

Quiz questions

  1. What are the four freedoms of the European single market?Answer: The free movement of goods, capital, services, and people.
  2. What contribution did the 1985 White Paper associated with Lord Cockfield make?Answer: It proposed about 300 measures and helped prompt treaty reforms to complete the market.
  3. When was the European single market launched?Answer: 1 January 1993.
  4. How do negative and positive integration differ?Answer: Negative integration removes restrictive measures; positive integration aligns laws through common rules.
  5. Why is the single market described as an ongoing project?Answer: Some barriers and gaps remain, and the EU continues to develop rules and initiatives.

Based on the Wikipedia article European single market, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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