Can the European Union Control the Agenda of Globalization?

This chapter argues that the European Union has been highly effective in creating an economic environment that buffers necessary macroeconomic change while at the same time protecting different domestic economic systems and institutions. Moreover, the EU, through its size and decision-making mechanisms, has prevented “race to the bottom” or “beggar thy neighbor” policies, forcing global companies to compete on the EU's terms. Finally, the chapter argues that the EU has succeeded in shaping aspects of globalization by, for example, making its product standards the international standards and resisting the US's policies on genetically modified organisms or data protection.