Over the last few
decades, free movement of services has acquired a ‘central’ and ‘connecting’
position in the structure of the EU internal market. This position has an
important impact on the relationship between positive and negative integration
in the internal market. Empirical analysis of the CJEU's case law on Article 56
TFEU and the Services Directive in the period of 2014 to 2023 shows that there
is still a significant amount of negative integration in the field of services.
Moreover, there is a significant amount of interaction between positive and
negative integration. Because of the nature, aim and scope of legislation in
the field of services, it is often difficult for the CJEU to demarcate the
‘boundaries’ between the respective scopes of application of positive and
negative integration. Therefore, it is important to develop a harmonious
relationship between positive and negative integration, which should be
characterized as a ‘mentoring relationship’.