The EU Decision-Making Process in EC Trade Policy: The Three Internal Tensions

Abstract

This paper is an analysis of the newly enlarged EU's decision-making process in trade policy by focusing on three variables, i.e., competence (whether national or EC competence in EC trade policy), control (who controls the EC's position in international trade negotiations: the Commission or the EU Member States?) and efficiency versus accountability (technocratic versus democratic trade policy) at the national and supranational levels. The empirical background is the World Trade Organization, to which the EC and its Member States are members. The paper concludes that EC trade policy needs to change to become more efficient and accountable at the same time as it addresses the issue of lack of transparency and legitimacy of the current system of governance, denounced by the Laeken European Council.

Keywords: efficiency, accountability, trade policy, transparency, legitimacy

JEL Classification: K33