Taking the current work on refining the contract law acquis as its starting point, this article considers whether there is a case for greater harmonisation of the law of damages in contract law within the EU. The law of damages is a platform for enforcing contractual interests. As long as remedies in general and damages in particular remain subject to divergent national solutions, the Community will have difficulties in achieving its goal of coherency in contract law.

By demonstrating the complexities surrounding this area of law and discussing recent decisions of the European Court of Justice, it argues that the current inconsistencies in the law of damages justify action at community level. The article outlines possible options for the Community that are consistent with the current climate of political, legal and social integration within the EU. It concludes by demonstrating that Europe could use the medium of contract law and the law of damages to deliver social and economic justice.