Shaping European Union’s global health initiatives. What role for the European Parliament?

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article proposes to assess the role and influence of the European Parliament (EP) in the shaping and implementation of one major instrument of European Union’s (EU’s) global health involvement, namely the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP). Through the content analysis of the legislative procedure that led to the establishment and the renewal of this initiative, as well as the EU’s and independent reports that evaluate its implementation, this study examines how EP’s recommendations made at the initial stage of this initiative have been influential for its elaboration and execution. Using an analytical framework designed in the light of the contemporary academic debate on EP’s influence on EU’s foreign policy, this study shows that, despite several challenges, the EP has succeeded in shaping significantly this initiative and its implementation by playing several specific roles. Furthermore, it demonstrates that such influence has made this global health initiative more democratic, more inclusive and more compliant with norms that frame international development cooperation since 2000. Consequently, this article concludes that the EP represents a significant actor of global health governance whose role will be determinant for the elaboration of the future EU–Africa Global Health Partnership (EDCTP-3).