VJ Home: Archive: Abstract Article (1999) 3 VJ 1, 3-14 Leaving the Shadow for the Test of Practice - On the Future of the Principles of European Contract Law Friedrich Blase* With the Economic and Monetary Union well underway, enlargement towards middle and eastern Europe apparently poses as one of the principal challenges for the EU in the forthcoming years. However, a voice has been raised that the EU must tackle another - somewhat less apparent - problem. It is in need of greater harmonisation of its various national legal systems. The Principles of European Contract Law (PECL) presented by the Commission on European Contract Law significantly address that problem. This paper argues that unless measures are taken in the near future, the success of the PECL is in danger. The careful work of several decades could be lost or at least diminished to that of an interesting comparative law study. The result would be a long delay in the European harmonisation process for many years, which is nothing less than an economically significant lost opportunity. The legal profession would have failed to serve the European people. * Scholarship-holder of the Graduiertenkolleg "Europäisches Privat- und Wirtschaftsrecht" at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (Germany). Friedrich Blase is also the current President of the MAA (fblase@maa.net).