Trade and International Cooperation

Around the world, globalisation and international trade have been heavily criticised. In response, we are seeing an increase in protectionism while multilateral regimes such as the WTO and the Paris Climate Agreement are being undermined. At the same time, global climate protests indicate that there is a need to work better and faster in pressing ahead with implementing the Paris Agreement and Agenda 2030. With the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals forming the central pillar of its political action, it is up to the EU to craft its trade policy fairly and to push forward with socio-environmental transformation on a global scale. In order to be a global player cooperating in solidarity with partners around the world, the EU needs to ensure a more coherent overarching strategy in terms of its trade, development and climate policies.

The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung EU office is dedicated to promoting a trade policy at EU level that is sustainable and fair, democratic and transparent. We rely on our expertise and our global network to build a bridge with the EU, making sure that social-democratic and alternative voices from the Global South are heard in Brussels.