of EU Trade in Services

Interactions between market forces and social and regulatory policies are always problematic when economic integration spans the borders of separate policymaking entities. This paper analyzes theoretical and practical conflicts between national regulatory frameworks and international trade opportunities in the services industry. It highlights similarities and differences between the European and global liberalization processes in this and other fields, focusing particularly on provisions regarding posting of workers and mobility of self-employed service suppliers. Issues arising in the context of trade in services through personal mobility are more difficult to solve than in the context of trade in goods, but less difficult than in the context of outright migration. While intra-EU and external liberalization processes are both slow and controversial in the services field, our review of their parallel evolution suggests that progress towards efficient integration of markets and policies is possible if synergies between internal and external legal instruments are suitably exploited. ∗ Università di Torino. We gratefully acknowledge useful comments on a preliminary version from workshop participants at Centro Studi Luca d’Agliano and financial support from Fondazione CRT-Progetto Alfieri in the framework of the Migration and Firms ’ Mobility research project