How the European Parliament Chooses Its Battles: Parliamentary Resolutions on the Negotiation of International Agreements

This article explains the occurrence and timing of resolutions adopted by the European Parliament (EP) on international agreements. Such resolutions allow the EP to exert influence, especially when they are adopted early in the negotiation process (i.e., ‘early resolutions’). However, the EP does not systematically adopt (early) resolutions. The article therefore addresses two research questions: (1) under which conditions does the EP adopt resolutions during the negotiation process of international agreements? And (2) under which conditions does the EP adopt early resolutions? Using a comprehensive dataset including the 344 international agreements concluded between 2009 and 2023, we find that resolutions are more likely to be adopted when the Committee on International Trade is the responsible EP committee, when human rights, personal data protection or environmental protection are at stake and when agreements are salient. Moreover, early resolutions are more likely to be adopted for more recent negotiations and when negotiations are salient early.