Non-economic Conditionality for Comprehensive EU International Economic Agreements?

Accommodation of fundamental rights in the architecture of international economic agreements (‘IEAs’) is generally rather modest and limited to specific issues. In this context, the European Union (‘EU’) stands out as an early innovator in the promotion of human rights, democracy and the rule of law—and thus a power for good in the global arena—by harnessing its considerable economic clout. The chapter develops this idea in four parts: (1) meaning of and rationale of fundamental rights clauses in economic agreements; (2) presence of fundamental rights clauses in current IEAs; (3) the EU’s innovative ‘essential elements’ clause; and (4) criticism and challenges to the EU approach and implications for the architecture of IEAs.