European Union and its Member States as a Collective Actor in WTO Decision-making Process

Since it was established, one of the United Nations (UN)'s top priorities was improvement of international economic relations and promotion of the economic development of its member states. Those who negotiated the UN Charter were aware that weakening economic relations can lead to international conflict. The link between the UN and the World Trade Organization (WTO) originated with the establishment of the Bretton Woods system. In July 1944, representatives from 45 countries gathered at the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods. On of the main pillars of this system was the GATT, which preceded the WTO. This pillar was founded on the notion that liberal rules of free trade would best serve international economic welfare. The GATT was established outside the UN framework; however, it was occasionally forced to respond to the influence of the UN agencies in their treaty-making activities. It represented rules which were widely accepted but there was not any intergovernmental organization standing behind them. Finally in 1994, the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization was signed in Marrakesh. The WTO Agreement entered into force on 1 January 1995 and the WTO became operational.

One of the most prominent, and well-known, ambitions of the European integration process has always been to speak with one voice in relation to the rest of the world. In the area of international trade, and more specifically within the framework of the WTO, the EU is an important player. The EU is not an ordinary member of the WTO. Indeed, it is a collective actor of the WTO. While the EU and its Member States are all members of the WTO; in practice they act as one actor represented by the European Commission (Commission). There are several reasons why the EU needs to speak with one voice in the international trade arena. In the post Cold War era, focus shifted from security to economic competition which is based not only on market dynamics but also on the capacity of the states to use access to their own markets as effective negotiating tools in the global trade wars. Furthermore, trade maters have become more political and foreign policy and economic tools blurred in conducting diplomacy. Acting as one trade entity gives the EU and its Member States more leverage and power in negotiating trade agreements with other countries. The Member States have pooled their external trade sovereignty and appointed the Commission as their common spokesman.