Il ruolo del Parlamento europeo nella disciplina degli scambi commerciali con i Paesi in via di sviluppo: il caso dell’SPG

The present article investigates the European Parliament’s role in the EU GSP and its suitability in the promotion of the coherence between EU trade policy and the principles of the EU external policy. The empowerment of the European Parliament in the EU GSP decision-making process can favour the implementation of the human rights standards and enhance the transparency of the monitoring process. However, the European Parliament’s involvement in the GSP could subject EU trade policy to the impacts of EU domestic politics and push EU trade relations in a more protectionist direction by excluding specific products from beneficiary countries and by lowering the threshold for safeguard measures.