Úloha Evropského parlamentu při prosazování lidských práv ve společné obchodní politice

Abstract

The Common commercial policy of the European Union has been changing its nature after the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty as the protection of human rights is today its important dimension. There are several reasons for this development and the expanding role of the European Parliament is undoubtedly one of them. This article aims to assess and demonstrate the European Parliament’s role on the basis of several specific case-studies in the area of negotiations of free trade agreements, the Generalised System of Preferences, and the debate on responsible business conduct of multinational enterprises. It comes to the conclusion that the European Parliament has become an influential actor in the Common commercial policy advocating for the use of trade instruments to promote human rights abroad.

Keywords

• common commercial policy
• european union
• european parliament
• human rights
• generalised system of preferences
• free trade agreements