Rebels with a cause? Parliaments and EU trade policy after the Treaty of Lisbon

This chapter looks into the relationship between national parliaments and the trade policy of the European Union (EU or Union) since the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon on 1 December 2009. It starts by examining the legal basis of EU trade policy after the Treaty of Lisbon and by giving an overview of the practice of trade policy, including recently signed trade agreements and ongoing negotiations. The chapter offers into the different processes through which supranational, national and subnational parliaments impact upon EU trade policy. It examines the responses in the current legal and political discourse to the request and practice of parliaments to become more directly involved in the making of EU trade policy. The chapter analyses the so-called 'Namur Declaration', which advocates a more active parliamentary involvement in EU trade agreements, but which has been contested by the so-called 'Brussels Declaration'.