Shining city on a hill? – How members of the European Parliament have voted on free trade

Abstract: This study presents the voting pattern of 384 MEPs from 8 Member States on divisions of free trade. Only 12 of the MEPs studied are free traders. Sweden has most free trader MEPs, and France the least. Only one MEP, Spain's Cristina García-Orcoyen Tormo (PPE-DE), has voted as a free trader in every division attended. France, on the other hand, is the country with most protectionists. Of the 50 French MEPs taking part of the study (the rest excluded for poor attendance), no fewer than 31 are protectionists, among these the former French Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture Michel Rocard (PSE). Spain has exactly one fifth of its MEPs in the protectionist group, among these, the former Spanish Foreign Minister and High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina Carlos Westendorp Y Cabeza (PSE). The countries represented in the study are Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.