Promoting sustainable development or legitimising free trade? Civil society mechanisms in EU trade agreements

Figures & data

Figure 1. Opinion on impact of free trade on sustainable development (in percentages; business n = 10, non-profit: n = 32).

Figure 2. Opinion on impact EU trade agreements on sustainable development (in percentages; business n = 10, non-profit: n = 32).

Figure 3. Changed opinions about the free trade agreement (in percentages; business n = 10, non-profit: n = 32).

Table 1. Business and non-profit evaluating the civil society mechanisms (in percentages; business n = 10, non-profit: n = 32).

	The meetings that I attended are a mechanism to…
	Reduce opposition to the agreement		Legitimise the agreement with the larger public		Guarantee ratification of the agreement		Build alliances with other civl society organisations		Have impact on decision-making		Discuss with officials		To present new ideas		Promote sustainable development
	Business	Non-profit	Business	Non-profit	Business	Non-profit	Business	Non-profit	Business	Non-profit	Business	Non-profit	Business	Non-profit	Business	Non-profit
Strongly agree	0	6	0	6	10	6	10	16	0	6	0	3	10	3	0	0
Agree	50	25	40	25	20	16	30	25	60	25	60	41	30	28	30	31
Somewhat agree	10	31	30	28	20	22	30	38	20	41	10	31	20	34	30	38
Neither agree nor disagree	40	19	30	19	40	25	20	13	10	9	20	16	30	19	30	13
Somewhat disagree	0	3	0	9	10	6	0	6	10	6	10	9	0	9	10	6
Disagree	0	9	0	13	0	19	10	3	0	9	0	0	10	6	0	9
Strongly disagree	0	6	0	0	0	6	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	3

Table 2. Business and labour evaluating the civil society mechanisms (in percentages; business n = 10, non-profit: n = 32).

	The meetings that I attended are a mechanism to…
	Have an impact on decision-making		Discuss with officials		Criticise the sustainable development dimension of the agreement		Promote sustainable development
	Business	Labour	Business	Labour	Business	Labour	Business	Labour
Strongly agree	0	13	0	13	0	25	0	0
Agree	60	13	60	38	0	25	30	13
Somewhat agree	20	38	10	50	20	25	30	50
Neither agree nor disagree	10	0	20	0	60	13	30	0
Somewhat disagree	10	13	10	0	10	0	10	13
Disagree	0	25	0	0	10	13	0	25
Strongly disagree	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0