Assuming leadership in multilateral economic institutions: the EU’s ‘Development Round’ discourse and strategy

Article is part of a special issue on Policy Change and Discourse in Europe.

Article abstract:

What is the role of discourse in trade policy-making in the European Union? How do the actors involved in trade policy-making create consensus for change? The participation of a large number of actors with divergent preferences and objectives in trade policy-making makes it a complex object of study. The article analyses how the EU played a leading role in launching the 'Development Round' at the WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar, in November 2001. It studies the use of a development rhetoric by Trade Commissioner Lamy, who sought to convince WTO members to launch a new trade round along the lines of the EU's 'comprehensive' approach to trade liberalisation; and to convince EU Member States to accept a more flexible EU negotiating position at the WTO.