Continuous and wide-ranging consultations with stakeholders both in GSP beneficiary countries and the EU ensure a high degree of transparency, as well as enrich the analysis with information “from the ground”, and provide feedback on draft results. The main channels for communication and consultation – apart from this website – were:

  • Interviews and surveys, including an online public consultation, with key stakeholders;
  • Workshops in selected GSP beneficiary countries; and
  • Civil society dialogue meetings in the EU.

A range of interviews and one-to-one meetings with private sector and civil society organisations and other key stakeholders both in the EU and GSP beneficiary countries took place durign the course of the study.

In addition, a public online consultation was undertaken by the European Commission to collect views from a wide range of stakeholders in a structured manner. The consultation was open until 15 July 2020 and aimed at collecting views in a comprehensive way, asking about the potential economic, social, human rights and environmental effects of the future GSP regulation, both in beneficiary countries and in the EU. Contributions to the consultation have been published and analysed as part of the study.

Civil society dialogue (CSD) meetings organised by DG Trade are regular meetings where civil society and the Commission discuss about the EU’s trade policy. Two such meetings took place in relation to the study:

  • a virtual meeting to discuss the draft inception report took place on 06 May 2020. More information; and
  • a meeting to discuss the interim report was held on 25 February 2021 - more information (see the slides used).

A number of workshops were planned to take place in selected GSP countries during the course of the study. Due to the covid-19 pandemic, these workshops had to be cancelled and have been replaced with virtual meetings and interviews.