Participation of Civil Society in EU Trade Policy Making: How Inclusive is Inclusion?

Abstract

In response to growing contestation and politicisation of trade policy, policy makers have aimed to enhance the 'inclusiveness' of trade policy through the institutionalisation of deliberative forums in which civil society organisations participate. However, it is not clear whether these processes actually enhance inclusiveness. This article adds to our understanding of this question by, first, developing an analytical framework (the 'inclusiveness ladder') and, second, applying it to the civil society mechanisms (CSMs) of European Union (EU) free trade agreements. The unique feature of CSMs is their focus on ensuring that the actual implementation of trade agreement does not run counter to sustainable development principles. Specifically, our empirical research involves a mixed methods analysis of primary and secondary sources and a survey of civil society participants. We find that CS is largely included at the level of logistics and partly at the level of information sharing, whereas monitoring capacities remain limited and impact on policy-making is quasi-absent. Moreover, results suggest differences between business participants, who seem largely satisfied with the lower steps on the 'ladder', and non-governmental actors who insist on policy impact. Finally, we outline avenues for further research and reflect on policy implications.

Engaging stakeholders to identify gaps and develop strategies to inform evidence use for health policymaking in Nigeria.

“…Community involvement in decision making is key to effective policies, as discussed during the convening. The exclusion of the populace in policy processes is not a new phenomenon across the world, irrespective of advancement in democracy [30]. But putting the people at the center of evidence production in health policy research is an emerging paradigm.…”

Inclusive Trade: Four Crucial Aspects

“…There is much academic debate about whether, in fact, any progressive change has been achieved in bringing transparency and participatory elements to trade Drieghe et al 2021). Undoubtedly, the speed and modalities characterising such aspects have varied greatly across countries and these are increasingly complicated with the proliferation of a widening range of issues in trade agreements.…”

“…Looking to civil society, Drieghe et al (2021) recently devise an 'inclusiveness ladder' to assess civil society contribution in the mechanisms established by European Union (EU) trade agreements. The overall conclusion is that these civil society mechanisms have failed to deliver a significant level of inclusion, and contribution appears limited largely to information-sharing activities rather than producing any tangible policy impact -making it difficult to assess the extent to which these groups are able to engage.…”

Rethinking the Dynamics of Inclusion and Exclusion in Trade Politics

“…Under increasing pressure from voters and civil society groups, governments in Europe and North America have undertaken reforms to adapt trade policy institutions to the new reality of twenty-first century trade negotiations, and more specifically to try to make the policy process appear more inclusive, transparent and accountable. Yet, as the contributions to this Special Section reveal, these efforts have been hampered by a variety of obstacles, be they discursive (Velut 2021), institutional (Drieghe et al 2021) or inter-scalar (Paquin 2021). In some cases, the mixed record of institutional reforms on behalf of inclusiveness and the unabashed pursuit of trade liberalisation has further alienated the public from trade policymaking.…”