Achievements, Challenges and Prospects

We have framed much of our explanation of the evolution of EU policies and policy processes through a framework we set out in Chapter 2 based on the economics of regional integration and the politics of federalism. On the economic side, the internal market has always been at the EU’s ‘policy core’. However, the demands of this core have been voracious, with the aim of trying to ensure that the market is truly ‘common’ having resulted in a spreading out from the rather nebulous attachment to the ‘four freedoms’ in the EEC Treaty to a situation whereby the market in some way touches virtually every area of public policy. Many EU policies that are not typically connected to the market have been brought within the EU framework at least partly for market-related reasons. Thus, as we explained in Chapters 8 and 13, an important reason why foreign and defence policies have been developed has been to support the expanding internal market, with effective foreign relations providing opportunities for opening up foreign markets to EU goods and services. Similarly, a more integrated European defence policy helps to support economies of scale in weaponry development and production in a high-tech, dynamic industry that strengthens the EU’s knowledge base and fuels demand for technicians, engineers and scientists.