A striking feature of the discourses surrounding the negotiations of Economic Partnership Agreements between the EU and developing states is the starkly contrasting pictures given of the role and nature of the EU. The Union is either portrayed as an angel, an actor with altruistic objectives,...

On 30 May 2001, a new regulation on public access to EU documents was presented and was heralded in the European press as a breakthrough for transparency. We argue that a focus on institutions can cast light on the negotiation processes that led to this decision, and explain the final-for...

The question approached in this article is whether the almost unanimous picture, drawn by both academic observers and EU representatives, of the EU as a major power and leading actor in global trade negotiations, is also shared by 'outsiders'. I describe and analyse how representatives of non-EU...