Book Review: Regulating Services in the European Union

Since services play an increasingly important role in the European Union economy, an understanding of EU rules in this field is essential for virtually everyone in Europe. However, EU regulation on services is an extremely complicated topic which cuts across various policies. In this context, this recent monograph is a welcome contribution to the literature.

Hatzopoulos, who teaches and practises law, provides an excellent and up‐to‐date account of EU regulation in service sectors. The preface persuasively explains the significance of services regulation for the revitalization of the single market, pursued by the EU. Subsequent theoretical chapters carefully and systematically unpack terribly complex, intertwined concepts (for example, services of general economic interest) and legal principles (for example, proportionality). Later chapters turn to various modes of EU regulation on services – namely case law, the classic legislative method, private regulation and other non‐legislative modes of governance such as networking, delegation to agencies and the Open Method of Co‐ordination. Although the concluding chapter is quite short and the least substantial one, Chapter 9 immediately before it builds on preceding chapters and provides an insightful outlook for EU services regulation. An overall contention that regulatory measures for services are and should continue to be diversifying is logically argued – and is persuasive.

Link: here