Fundamental rights in the institutional architecture of EU trade agreements: a tale of omissions

This paper explores the institutional dimension of the implementation of the new generation EU Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) from a fundamental rights perspective. The creation of an institutional architecture of EU FTAs is what makes them operational. It enables the other dimensions to become “alive” and not to remain words within a text. Given the plethora of entities created by the new generation of EU FTAs, this paper investigates the extent to which the institutional architecture of EU FTAs is adequate to protect and promote fundamental rights. This investigation shows that, despite significant novelties, several limitations remain. Gaps in the mandate and deficiencies in the decision-making processes lead to foresee little consideration of fundamental rights at the implementation stage