The re‐entry paradox: Abuse of EU law

Abuse of law is a fundamental paradox: It is necessary to consider legal acts as illegal acts. The distinction legal/illegal is applied to itself. The article shows that the notion of abuse in the European context is closely related to the antinomy of the Internal Market which describes itself as a borderless area with internal borders. A closer look at the case law reveals that actors can make use of the fundamental freedoms in the form of self‐contradictory arrangements (prototype: U‐Turns). Put more generally, autonomy is taken seriously and subjective rights are not covered by law when they are exercised in a tautological or paradoxical way.