The right to food and trade law in the external relations of the European Union with developing countries

The European Union has exclusive competence to negotiate trade agreements with third countries. Using this competence the European Commission developed an extensive policy to conclude free trade agreements with numerous countries around the world. These agreements include regulation of the import and export of food products and also involve developing countries prone to hunger and malnutrition. This thesis investigates the recent trade agreements between the European Union and developing countries from the perspective of the human right to adequate food. This thesis demonstrates that the clauses on import and export of food products of such agreements limit the capacity of the developing countries involved to realise the right to food of their citizens. This outcome does not take into account the normative content of the right to food as contained in international human rights law and is dismissive of the references to human rights contained in European Union funding treaties and in the previous agreements between the European Union and developing countries. This thesis also demonstrates that this outcome is mainly an autonomous policy decision of the European Union and its trade partners independent from the obligations of World Trade Organization law. The thesis concludes with several proposals of reform to conciliate the external trade objectives of the European Union with the human right to adequate food.