Presented by Piotr Krajewski (UvA)
Abstract
This case study constitutes a part of the broader normative and empirical inquiry proposed by my PhD thesis, aiming to verify if the institutional framework and practice of negotiation of trade and investment agreements by the EU correspond to the ideal of separation of powers. The following case focuses on the negotiation process of the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) taking place between 2013-2020. The analysis presented here entails the examination of legitimacy claims grouped into three categories: democratic inputs, performance, and values. I review the claims made in each category by the Commission, the Parliament, and the Council, roughly following the chronological order. This strategy should make it possible to reconstruct the negotiation process and ascertain the crucial priorities and points of contention for each institution. The examination of legitimacy claims is followed by a normative assessment whereby I attempt to examine which claims dominate in the discourse of each institution and what patterns of change are discernible in this respect. Furthermore, I discuss if references to democratic inputs, values, and performance were invoked to exert control over the conduct of other actors. I also examine whether or not specific claims have translated into policy measures and, consequently, if they had an effect on the relative balance of power between the institutions.