European Community Trade Policy and the Article 113 Committee

The European Community's "Article 113" Committee is the forum in which the member states argue out their differences over trade policy. Despite its slender constitutional basis, it has developed into a respected and authoritative institution. Now, however, with the huge range of topics on the international trade agenda and the expansion of the EU, the committee's mechanisms are coming under increasing strain. In this detailed study, based on many years of experience as a member of the committee, Michael Johnson traces the history of the EC's common commercial policy - one of the first building blocks of European integration - and of the central role played in its development by the Article 113 Committee's trade policy officials. He reviews the committee's working methods and suggests how it can be used to make Community trade policy more coherent and accountable. The practical insights provided by this study have a wide relevance, throwing light on the evolving process of centralized decision-making in Europe.
 
The European Community's "Article 113" Committee is the forum in which the member states argue out their differences over trade policy. Despite its slender constitutional basis, it has developed into a respected and authoritative institution. Now, however, with the huge range of topics on the international trade agenda and the expansion of the EU, the committee's mechanisms are coming under increasing strain. In this detailed study, based on many years of experience as a member of the committee, Michael Johnson traces the history of the EC's common commercial policy - one of the first building blocks of European integration - and of the central role played in its development by the Article 113 Committee's trade policy officials. He reviews the committee's working methods and suggests how it can be used to make Community trade policy more coherent and accountable. The practical insights provided by this study have a wide relevance, throwing light on the evolving process of centralized decision-making in Europe.