The ‘Politiciziation’ of the EU’s Common Commercial Policy – Approaching the ‘Post-Lockean’ Era

The coming into force of the Lisbon Treaty is generally considered to be an important step in the further development of EU law. It is praised for bringing about greater efficiency, greater democracy and for bringing the Union closer to the Union’s citizens. The quest for a more democratic EU, in particular, has been a pivotal goal. In the perennial need to win over majorities for further integration, the promise of granting broader participatory rights has regularly been the bait. The manner of achieving this end was subject to intense discussion, but the overall consensus was that broader democratization should mainly be achieved by strengthening the role of the European Parliament (EP). With the Treaty of Lisbon the EP’s affirmation process, which started in 1957 at a very low-key level, has come full circle. In this process, through which the EP managed to attract ever greater powers, the Common Commercial Policy (CCP), long held to be immune from any EU parliamentarian interference, also came within the Parliament’s orbit. The consequence of this reform is slowly seeping into public awareness. The democratization of the common commercial policy is equivalent to an enormous leap forward in the politicization of this field