21. Free Movement of Capital and Economic and Monetary Union

Abstract

All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing students with a stand-alone resource. This chapter, focuses on the free movement of capital and economic and monetary union (EMU). It first considers the movement of capital, one of the four freedoms enshrined in the original Rome Treaty. It then discusses EMU and analyzes the movement towards EMU, and the Treaty provisions that set the legal framework for EMU. The chapter considers arguments for and against EMU and the position of the European Central Bank, concluding with an overview of the stresses and strains of EMU in the light of the banking and financial crisis. The UK version contains a further section analysing issues concerning free movement of capital between the EU and the UK post-Brexit.