The EU has recently adopted a new strategy on ‘external competitiveness’ and trade, outlined in the EC Communication ‘Global Europe – competing in the world’.

The members of the Seattle to Brussels network, a network of 70 European organisations campaigning to promote a sustainable, socially and democratically accountable system of trade (www.s2bnetwork.org), have warned that the new ‘Global Europe’ strategy of the EU Commission sets a new vision for the EU trade policy by integrating it with the Lisbon agenda and will serve only corporations worldwide and at home. They also warned that it poses a threat to policy space, jobs, weak social groups, social and environmental standards, natural resources, equity and development in developing countries but also in Europe itself.

See official documents and S2B critique...

Official documents

•  'Global Europe' Communication, 4 October 2006

• Annex to the 'Global Europe' Communication, 4 October 2006

• Draft 'Global Europe' Communication, June 2006

S2B critique 

• S2B report: The New ‘Global Europe’ Strategy of the EU: Serving Corporations Worldwide and at Home  (November 2006)
  

• S2B report: Corporate Power over EU Trade Policy: Good for business, bad for the World (September 2006) 

• Briefing on the EU's external competitiveness strategy (4 October 2006)

• Press release: Mandelson drops development guise and launches final attack on European Social model  (4 October 2006)