Do common constitutional traditions matter in the field of regulated markets?

Abstract

A new tension is spreading throughout Europe: the tension between Common Constitutional Traditions (CCTS) and Constitutional Identity (CI). Recent cases brought before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which have gone to the core of European Integration, have revealed this tension. In particular, this tension was highlighted in the “Taricco saga” and in the more recent cases concerning the independence of the judiciary in Poland. The rulings concerning the first group of cases use the concept of CCTS in a quite conventional way, that is, with regard to fundamental rights. The essay examines the possibility that the complex relationship between the CCTS and CI will affect other areas, such as the market regulation and public intervention in the economic sphere.