[event] Godefroy de Boiscuillé: The EU Digital Single Market Paradox

Speaker: Godefroy de Boiscuillé is Maître de Conférences at Côte d’Azur University and Co-Director of the Chair Competition & Digital Economics at Panthéon-Assas University Paris II.

Description: The goal of creating a unified digital economy is being undermined by the steady rise in trade barriers, often framed under the innocuous term “ex ante regulation.” This presentation will focus on four key points: (1) In digital markets, the approach of negative integration—removing barriers to trade—is increasingly contradicted by new measures that have effects equivalent to quantitative restrictions. (2) The strategy of positive integration—establishing EU-wide norms and standards—is weakened by the proliferation of conflicting standards. (3) Exceptions to the free movement of goods are multiplying, justified by objectives that often conflict with other equally important goals. (4) While the Digital Single Market is based on the principles of the common market, it introduces a less liberal philosophy compared to the traditional internal market framework. Together, these dynamics reveal a paradox: the very goal of a unified digital market risks being undermined by the growing layers of regulation fragmenting the digital economy.

Format: Dr. de Boiscuillé will give a 30-minute talk, which will be followed by a discussion moderated by Dr. Thibault Schrepel.