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Abstract

This article reconstructs the confl ict about the liberalization of German public banks. During this confl ict, the European Commission was able to enforce the supranational competition rules for fi nancial services, skillfully applying political strategies. The article focuses on the Commission’s capacities for strategic action. The case illustrates that the Commission has the ability to promote the integration process even in areas where the Member States wanted to prevent regulative competences being transferred to the European level.