04 The Social Clauses and the Euromeditteranean Agreements

Abstract

This paper addresses the topic of social clauses through the European Union’s trade agreements
with the Arab countries, considering first the degree of presence of social clauses in these
agreements, and second, the repercussion on the economic and social conditions of these countries,
and especially on workers’ fundamental rights when social clauses are poorly included or totally
absent. It provides a quick overview of the key ideas in the ongoing theoretical debate on the
relationship between economic development and social clauses, as different specialists,
international organization experts and academic researchers still disagree.