Global Europe: The tyranny of “free trade”, the European way

This report by Friends of the Earth International critiques the European Union's 'Global Europe' strategy, arguing that its pursuit of a 'new generation' of bilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) prioritizes the competitiveness of European transnational corporations over sustainable development, food sovereignty, and the sovereignty of developing nations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

• The 'Global Europe' strategy marks a shift in EU trade policy toward an 'ultra-liberal' approach that prioritizes 'competitiveness' and market access for European companies over 'non trade concerns' such as human rights, social cohesion, and sustainable development.
• The EU is increasingly utilizing bilateral FTAs as an alternative to the stalled WTO 'Doha Round' to secure market access in emerging economies, effectively becoming a 'world champion' in FTAs despite its public advocacy for multilateralism.
• The EU's 'Raw Materials Initiative', launched in November 2008, seeks to ensure 'reliable and undistorted access' to raw materials to support EU industry, which the report claims undermines environmental justice and the sovereignty of resource-rich countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
• In Central America, the EU's Association Agreements are criticized for threatening food sovereignty by favoring large-scale monoculture exports (such as palm oil and sugarcane for agrofuels) over peasant agriculture and local food markets.
• The EU uses 'flexible Rules of Origin' in negotiations for products like coffee and sugar to allow goods processed in the EU from third-country raw materials to benefit from tariff exemptions, which Central American producers argue is asymmetric and unfair.
• In Africa, the EU has pressured countries to sign 'interim' Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) to avoid losing tariff preferences, while pushing for future liberalization of services, public procurement, and investment markets.
• The report alleges that European financial institutions, including the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Nordic Investment Bank (NIB), finance extractive and infrastructure projects in the Global South that cause severe environmental and social conflicts.
• The 'Global Europe' strategy is argued to impact European citizens by encouraging a 'race-to-the-bottom' in social and environmental standards to maintain corporate competitiveness, potentially leading to job losses and the erosion of the European social model.
• In the Caribbean, the report describes the Association Agreement as being signed 'under duress', with leaders like Guyana's President Bharrat Jagdeo warning that the agreement could undermine regional integration.

APA

Valdomir, S., & Poppe, C. (2008). Global Europe: The tyranny of “free trade”, the European way. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/FoEI-Global-Europe-tiranny-of-free-trade.pdf

Chicago

Valdomir, Sebastian, and Charly Poppe. Global Europe: The tyranny of “free trade”, the European way. Friends of the Earth International, 2008. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/FoEI-Global-Europe-tiranny-of-free-trade.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Valdomir |first1=Sebastian |last2=Poppe |first2=Charly |title=Global Europe: The tyranny of “free trade”, the European way |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=December 2008 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/FoEI-Global-Europe-tiranny-of-free-trade.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{valdomir2008global, author = {Valdomir, Sebastian and Poppe, Charly}, title = {{Global Europe: The tyranny of “free trade”, the European way}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2008}, month = dec, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/FoEI-Global-Europe-tiranny-of-free-trade.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }