PA change of direction in the European Union’s common commercial policy: from promotion to condition

Authors

  • Carmen Martínez San Millán Universidad de Valladolid

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18042/cepc/rdce.76.06

Abstract

The European Union's free trade agreements have so far been characterised by a chapter on trade and sustainable development in which the Union and its trading partners committed themselves to respect core labour standards and the main multilateral environmental agreements, but from a purely promotional approach, based on dialogue and cooperation, and with no economic or trade consequences for non-compliance. This promotional approach has been widely criticised by the doctrine and civil society over the last few years, who have claimed that the implementation mechanism of this series of chapters is insufficient and ineffective. Consequently, the European Commission has reconsidered its position, and in a Communication of June 2022 admits the possibility of resorting to trade sanctions in the event of non-compliance with the obligations contained in the chapters on trade and sustainable development, which represents a paradigm shift in the European Union's Common Commercial Policy, from promotion to condition. In this paper, we analyse this paradigm shift and its impact on the present and future European free trade agreements.

Published

2023-12-20