EU Regional Trade Agreements: An Instrument of Promoting the Rule of Law to Third States

The book contributes to the growing body of knowledge about the pursuit of non-trade policy objectives through the European Union (EU) trade policy. In particular, it explores the actual and potential suitability of the EU Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) as an instrument of promoting the rule of law in partner countries.The book introduces the concept of EU value-promoting RTAs, based on the combination of the foreign policy, legal and development economics perspectives. It offers a detailed account of the legal pathways through which the RTAs advance the rule of law standards and their interplay with the EU’s application of unilateral assistance instruments in the Balkans, the “associated” Eastern Neighbourhood and the CARIFORUM countries. The final part of the book applies the concept of EU value-promoting RTAs to the case of the EU-Ukraine Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA). It suggests a number of recommendations for relevant EU institutions as to strategizing the use of RTAs as a value-promotion instrument.The text will be of key interest to scholars, students and practitioners in the field of EU external relations and their legal regulation, especially those focusing on the EU trade and development policies.