The EU’s Common Commercial Policy in a Changing World: Insights into the Trajectory and Drivers behind EU Trade and Investment Policy in the Period 2006-2019

Abstract

Taking point in the increasingly changing global trade regime, the aim of this thesis is to undertake a qualitative case study of EU trade policy in the period between 2006 and 2019. The aim of this analysis is threefold, namely to identify and assess the trajectory of EU trade policy, as well as provide with both an in- depth and high level account of the different drivers behind this trajectory. To that end, the thesis will rely on the integration of two different frameworks for identifying and assessing EU trade policy and policy change respectively, in order to provide with a concrete account of the development of EU trade policy along the fronts of trade liberalization and trade promotion in the period in question. This will be supplemented with a multi-level discussion on the progress amongst the three strategies, and the different drivers behind this trajectory, as identified amongst others in both existing theoretical frameworks and current empirical works on EU trade policy. Within this context, this thesis aims to paint a coherent and structured picture of EU trade policy in a changing world with interdependencies and challenges, including the rise of GVCs, Emerging Economies, and the new trade agenda, as well as internal EU challenges arising from the different legislatory developments, and recovery from the 2008 financial crisis and more recent refugee and Brexit crisis.