DSMIDSMIThe Digital Single Market Institute

Research programme

Mapping fragmentation

Digital companies are not only subject to rules specifically designed for the digital economy. Like any business seeking to operate and scale across the European Union, they must also navigate traditional areas of business law such as company law, taxation, labour law, contract law, insolvency, intellectual property and capital markets law. The continued fragmentation of these rules across Member States remains a major obstacle to the completion of the Digital Single Market.

  1. 1

    Tax law

    Very high
    corporate tax, tax base, losses, withholding tax, stock options, capital gains, investor taxation, filing procedures
  2. 2

    Labour & social law

    Very high
    dismissal, contracts, working time beyond EU minima, collective agreements, representation, co-determination, social contributions
  3. 3

    Insolvency & restructuring

    Very high
    ranking of creditors, procedures, restructuring, avoidance actions, winding-up conditions, time limits, role of courts
  4. 4

    Company law

    High to very high
    company forms, capital, shares, governance, shareholders' rights, transfers of securities, formalities, start-up financing
  5. 5

    Contract law & civil enforcement

    High
    contracts, security interests, property, limitation periods, damages, evidence, enforcement, court procedures
  6. 6

    Digital law & regulation

    Medium to high / High in practice
    tolow textual fragmentation, greater enforcement fragmentation and layering of regimes
  7. 7

    Capital markets law

    Medium to high
    securities law, post-trade, supervision, product distribution, investment taxation
  8. 8

    Intellectual property

    Variable
    copyright;patents;trade marks and designs
  9. 9

    Consumer law

    Medium
    largely harmonised, yet some national margins remain
  10. 10

    Competition law

    Low to medium
    Articles 101/102, Regulation 1/2003, mergers: high degree of harmonisation

Reading scale: "Very high" indicates a field still largely governed by national law, "low to medium" a field almost fully harmonised. This map is the starting point for the Institute's work.