Why Europe Needs a Civil Code

Arguments in favour of the creation of a civil code for the European Union are usually framed in terms of the internal market agenda, which seeks to remove real or supposed obstructions to trade, such as the diversity of national laws. Although those arguments for a European civil code are found inadequate and to some extent misconceived, a different reason for the creation of a civil code consisting of principles rather than detailed rules is advanced, based on the idea that Europe needs to construct a transnational civil society that will provide the foundations for greater political solidarity between the peoples of Europe and thereby legitimate more effective transnational institutions of governance.