The interaction between labor market regulation and the EU's internal market poses increasing challenges for both lawyers and policy makers throughout the EU. From a policy point of view, the Lisbon Agenda and the reality of globalization have driven the EU towards a reformative approach to labor law in the context of its employment strategy. In the legal arena, the mixture of different national labor standards and free economic exchange has turned explosive in the wake of EU enlargement. This book explores the intricate, complex, and sometimes contentious relationship between the EU's agenda for a free internal market and the protection of labor standards within the EU. Its immediate focus is on recent legal developments, both in case law and in legislation. But these developments are addressed in a more general approach that seeks to give an overall background and context. European Union Internal Market and Labour Law: Friends or Foes? - the result of a conference held in the aftermath of the instantly famous cases of Laval and Viking - also reports on a panel discussion between stakeholders.
About the Author: Marc De Vos holds a Licentiate and Doctorate in Law (University of Ghent, 1993 and 2000), a Master in Social Law (Université Libre de Bruxelles, 1994) and a Master of Laws (Harvard University, 2000). His main areas of legal specialization, in which he has also practiced extensively, include Belgian and European employment and labour law (social law), EU institutional and constitutional law, and fundamental rights. He is also widely read in economics and political science. About these and related topics he has authored and co-authored over a dozen books and over one hundred scientific articles. He frequently publishes, teaches, lectures and debates on issues of labour and employment law, European integration, globalisation, labour market reform, pensions, ageing, healthcare and the welfare state, both nationally and internationally, and both in academic, professional and policy circles, as well as in the media. He is a professor of law at the Ghent University Law School and the University of Brussels where he teaches courses on employment and labour law, EU-law, and the rule of law. He serves as Director of LLM programmes and international relations at Ghent University Law School. He is director of the Itinera Institute, an independent policy think-tank, based in Brussels. He is a member or board member of various associations, committees and advisory bodies. He has served as a visiting professor at several universities in Europe, the United States, Australia, and Asia. He has held advisory positions in various public and private organizations.