The Role of Competition in the Europeanization of the Professional Complex

This contribution develops a theoretical framework in the vein of accounts of sociology of professions which highlight the role of professions in advancing social integration and the role of competition in this context. Against this theoretical backdrop, I will develops a critical account of the role of professions in the European integration. I hope to show why it is important for European Studies to pay more attention to sociology of professions and its notion of professions. Conversely, sociology of professions could learn from insights into the transnationalisation of politics and society provided by European Studies. The theoretical framework developed in this contribution will then be used to explore in a second part, through the magnifying glass of seminal rulings of the European Court of Justice, the Europeanization of the professional complex and the role of competition law in this context.