A participação pública na negociação do acordo de livre comércio Mercosul-União Europeia

Abstract

The globalization has changed the traditional role of non-state actors on the multilateral scenario. Hence, civil society organizations became more autonomous and interdependent in defending sustainable development in Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). This research is carried out on the role of civil society in international environmental law. It analyses the public participation in the FTA Mercosur-European Union, in light of Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration, 1992. It uses historical and inductive methods to understand this new transnational collective field, and it seeks to investigate the variety of terms referring to participation in the European Union. Context limitations of the political, normative and doctrinal of the public space are established. This phenomenon is approached with an emphasis on the role of the European Commission, which is based on the White Paper on European Governance and the Aarhus Convention on access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters. At the end, the process of institutionalizing North-South cooperation links is examined with reference to the European Economic and Social Committee (CESE) on the creation of the Economic and Social Consultative Forum (FCES). It is concluded that there has been an increase in the role of non-state actors in international law in recent years. Nonetheless, there is little evidence that this participation had a significant impact on the Mercosur-European Union FTA. The contribution of civil society has been restricted by the format of institutions. Therefore, a more systematic analysis of the subject is required.