The principle of equality in Community law: a study based on economic freedoms.

Summary On the basis of a study of the economic freedoms enshrined in the Treaty of Rome, the principle of equality can be characterized as an instrumental principle whose meaning and scope have been determined by the objective of establishing the common market in its two dimensions, namely free movement and free competition. However, this conception of the principle has led to its being challenged in favour of an extensive conception of free movement dictated by the concern to complete the single market. The principle of equality, which is contested in its instrumental conception, has nevertheless found another place in the construction of the Community, linked to the transition from an economic community to a more political and social union. This principle, which contributes to the establishment of a Community based on the rule of law and whose implementation prefigures the emergence of a social Community, is no longer merely an instrument of the market, but has become a fundamental right of the citizens of the Union.