How TTIP split the social-democrats: reacting to the politicisation of EU trade policy in the European parliament

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article undertakes an actor-centred case study of the European Parliament’s (EP) reaction to the politicisation of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the most controversial EU trade negotiations in history, as structured by the behaviour of its political groups. Specifically, the article traces why and how the EP updated its position on TTIP at the height of politicisation through a new resolution adopted in the summer of 2015. We focus on the role played by the then swing group in the EP, the Socialist and Democrats (S&D), which was a key target of TTIP contestants. Building on the literature on EP politics, we explain how the S&D balanced responsiveness to outside contestants with the responsibility as a group that was required to maintain a stable majority within the EP. We demonstrate how the S&D position was steered by its largest delegations and MEPs with responsible roles. In addition, we show that S&D delegations which faced high levels of domestic politicisation and whose parties hold trade sceptic views defected from the compromise resolution. Our article contributes to the literatures on politicisation of trade, the role of the EP in trade policy, and politics in the European Parliament.