From CSR for trade to CSR through trade: the chronicle of a European link foretold?

This article looks at the unfolding of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) debate in the European context and at the way this debate contributes to the promotion of CSR through the EU policies and through a subtle, potentially expanding normative regime. Looking at the ethos of the European CSR environment, the article addresses the variety of regulatory and non-regulatory signals received by the European institutions from its Member States. Next, the article looks into the various stages through which the European institutional position on CSR has been honed, reflecting the link between CSR and trade at policy level and the role played by the process of integrating a consistent human rights policy into the external, outward-looking dimension of the European CSR strategy. Building on this analysis and highlighting the CSR potential of instruments such as the Cotonou Agreement, the article looks into the way in which CSR and trade are intertwined in the latest models of European trade and development agreements as instruments of European foreign policy and as examples of the European approach to the social issues of globalization