ABSTRACT
This chapter explores an economic and monetary union: the European Union (EU). It discusses the historic background of economic integration in Europe, and the supranational character of European Union law. The chapter explores free trade in Europe, in which the four freedoms to trade, harmonization in trade law and competition rules play a profound role and explains the organizational structure of the EU, and last, hoe disputes are settled by the European Court of Justice. The lesson learned from the Second World War was that economic integration would be a key to lasting peace. The EU legislative bodies and the European Court of Justice have played a profound role in the forming of European Law: a field of law in its own right that is applicable in the domestic legal orders of its member states. The Dutch transport company Van Gend en Loos imported basic materials for the production of plastic from Germany.
