ABSTRACT
Trade agreements have been a central feature of the Association Agreements (AAs) that are a key element of the European Union’s (EU’s) engagement with countries in its eastern and southern neighbourhood. Trade agreements have also been a pillar of the EU’s interaction with countries in the rest of the world, reflecting a long history of using trade as an instrument of foreign policy. Over time both the design and the content of the EU’s trade agreements have evolved substantially, moving from a focus on ‘shallow’ trade agreements – that centre mostly on the liberalization of merchandise trade – towards ‘deeper’ trade agreements – that also liberalize trade in services, public procurement markets and cross-border investment, and include disciplines on the implementation of national regulatory regimes. This shift is evident in the 2003 European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), which establishes provisions that allow interested governments to negotiate a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) between the EU and partner countries.
