a party eavesdropping on communications INTERNAL MARKET DG Internal Market, the Directorate General of the European Commission which is one of the essential cornerstones of the European Union. The internal market is the culmination of the Treaty of Rome which provided for the creation of a "common market" based on the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital. Reflecting the construction of Europe in the broadest sense of the term, the idea of unifying the markets ties in with the objective of economic and political integration. The Treaty establishing the European Community (the EC Treaty) provides for the activities of the Community to include "a system ensuring that competition in the internal market is not distorted" and "the approximation of the laws of Member States to the extent required for the functioning of the common market". In addition, the accompanying policies, such as environmental protection and social policy, play important roles in the functioning of the internal market. INTERNET PROTOCOL - IP The rules governing how computers on the Internet communicate and share information.