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Parliamentary Influence Ten Years after Lisbon: EU Trade Negotiations with Japan *
Author(s) -
Frennhoff Larsén Magdalena
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
jcms: journal of common market studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.54
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1468-5965
pISSN - 0021-9886
DOI - 10.1111/jcms.13052
Subject(s) - negotiation , ratification , parliament , treaty , international trade , political science , constructive , general partnership , international economics , economics , politics , law , process (computing) , computer science , operating system
The Lisbon Treaty altered the way EU trade negotiations are conducted, by granting new powers to the European Parliament (EP), including ratification powers. Ten years after the Treaty entered into force, this article evaluates the parliamentary influence on EU trade negotiations, both in terms substantial and procedural matters, by analyzing the trade negotiations between the EU and Japan that lead to the Economic Partnership Agreement. Using an embedded two‐level game approach, the paper argues that parliamentary influence has been significant, and that the EP has developed into a constructive and experienced actor. It has changed the inter‐institutional dynamics, and it plays an increasingly influential role internationally through cross‐table engagement with the EU's negotiating partners. In addition, EU trade negotiations are embedded in a network of past, parallel and future negotiations, which shaped the strategies of the EP, and the nature and progress of the negotiations overall.