EU trade politics - heaven or hell?

The analysis begins by examining a paradigm of successful EU trade politics (`heaven'), and what it might constitute. It argues that both the EU trade policy process and the dynamics of EU trade politics are essentially positive factors. However, while this `heaven' might exist in theory ( and did in reality, to an extent, in the latter years of the last century), a series of largely external factors, notably those relating to development and globalization, have made EU trade politics more complex and difficult to manage. The remedy lies not in trying to `seal off' the EU trade policy process from politics, but in seeking overtly political solutions, such as flanking policies to encourage public support for trade openness, taking a serious look at the idea of `collective preferences', and instituting a greater role for the European Parliament.