The Competition Policy of the European Union: Action Plan for a Competitive Europe or Tool for Crisis Management?

The competition policy of the European Union is one of the most successful examples of supranational governance in action. It fundamentally transformed Europe’s competitive environment and consequently, the development of European welfare states. Originally conceived in 1950-51 against the backdrop of the attempted restructuring of Western Europe’s political economies, this policy is itself an outcome of the politico-economic (and humanitarian) crisis reaching back to the interwar period. But the negotiations on the antitrust provisions of the European Coal and Steel Community were not only shaped by the notion of crisis, but also by general ideas about the role competition should play in a free, democratic and equitable society. This paper proposes to develop a long-term historical perspective to tease out how the relationship between crisis and ideas in the competition policy of the EU has changed over time.