ABSTRACT
With the 2004 and 2007 enlargements and the completion of the single European market programme, the EU has become the world’s largest market. It is also the world’s largest exporter of goods and services. In terms of imports and as a home to, and host of, foreign direct investment, it is comparable to the US. Reflecting its economic weight, the EU has emerged as one of the dominant players in multilateral trade negotiations. The EU, however, is not an international actor in the traditional sense; it is also an international organisation that brings together 27 member states.
