Was the European Union ever a liberal dream? How did the common market impact the liberalization in its member states? Has the EU fostered more or less economic freedom in the Old Continent? This book explores the intellectual and political genesis of the European Union, focusing especially on...

1. Introduction -- 2. Some Introductory Thoughts -- Part I. The European “Postwar Consensus” and the European Project -- 3. The Origins of the Idea of European Integration: A German Perspective -- 4. The European “Postwar Consensus” and the Birth of the EEC -- 5 “Large Switzerland”...