Bulletin n. 3/2009
January 2010
CONTENTS
  • Section A) The theory and practise of the federal states and multi-level systems of government
  • Section B) Global governance and international organizations
  • Section C) Regional integration processes
  • Section D) Federalism as a political idea
    • Bossuyt Fabienne
    The Social Dimension of the New Generation of EU FTAs with Asia and Latin America: Ambitious Continuation for the Sake of Policy Coherence
    in European Foreign Affairs Review , Volume 14, Issue 5 ,  2009 ,  703-722
    This article examines the commitment of the European Union (EU) to advance social goals through the ‘new generation’ of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with partner countries in Asia and Latin America. It does so by analysing the positions of the relevant policy actors on the inclusion of social issues in these prospective agreements. The study finds that the EU is pursuing an ambitious social agenda for the future bilateral trade arrangements while building on existing EU initiatives to strengthen the Social Dimension of Globalization (SDG). It will be argued that this high level of social commitment should be attributed to the Commission’s pro-activeness and entrepreneurial ability in rallying the Member States behind the incorporation of social issues in the negotiating mandates. In asking why the Commission is so committed to promoting social justice through the new trade agreements, the article offers three explanations, one referring to the goal of increasing policy coherence in the social-trade nexus, one drawing on the issue of legitimacy and one relating to the pursuit of bureaucratic interests. The article concludes that the EU’s ambitious agenda nevertheless needs to be qualified. The Commission’s attempts to face policy incoherence between the trade and social spheres risk being hampered by a number of internal and external factors, including weak bureaucratic coordination, contradictory policy goals and opposition by the negotiating partners.
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