European Community Competition Law And European Integration

Many forces lead to European integration, among which European Community competition law (ECCL) plays a unique role. This paper takes a view of liberal-constructivism to study creation and effect of European Community competition law. This liberal-constructivism refers to a comprehensive analytical paradigm of liberalism and constructivism. liberal-constructivism believes that constructing an institution identified by nations can reduce transaction costs among nations to increase interests of nations. According to that paradigm, this paper believes that transference of Schuman Plan to European Coal and Steel Community was not as smooth as people thought, which directed by competition law is a result of combination of endeavor of European renaissance, international pressure, American intervention and politic elites' acceptance to competition law; and though abolishing anti-competition behaviors of member states and their undertakings, European Community competition law has strongly sustained competition in European common market, therefore become a footstone of European integration especially European economic integration. The "Modenization of European Community competition law", which decentralizing the power of enforcement of European competition law, well settles allocation of power between supranational organization and member states, helps to form a common effort to common interests which is leading by supranational organization and supported by member states, thus makes it an important institutional factor of further and deeper development of European integration. With its applicable to every market economy countries, European Community competition law can be a pre-condition to access European Union, which at the same time generalizes European model to the association countries, thus becomes an important institutional factor for European Enlargement. In a word, the value and nature revealled by European Community competition law is the main factor which makes it become a important factor in the process of European integration.