Managing globalization? The EU in international trade negotiations

Through a study of the evolution of the concept of 'managed globalization' in trade, an idea conceptualized by EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy in 1999 and replaced by the new policy of 'Global Europe' in 2006, this article analyses whether the Commission has had an autonomous impact on the EU position in international trade negotiations, especially in the Doha Round of the WTO. Such autonomy appears wider at first glance than it actually is, since it is hard to find evidence that the doctrinal shift occurred against Member State preferences. In the end, the true (but limited) autonomy of the Commission comes from its entrepreneurial ability to repackage Member State preferences into a consensual doctrine.