Since 1999, the European Commission has been undertaking a series of Sustainable Impact Assessments (SIAs) of multilateral and regional trade agreements. On invitation, Markus Knigge presented at the EASY-ECO conference, organised by the Impact Assessment Research Centre in the University of Manchester's School of Environment and Development, a paper on the role of civil society engagement in these assessments. The presentation focused on the objectives of stakeholder consultations, methodologies for participation, the interplay with the negotiation process and the impediments for effective participation of civil society.

The challenge of developing robust methodologies to undertake ex ante and/or ex post sustainability assessments of trade policies remains largely unmet. In cooperation with further members of the CAT-E network Ecologic analyses and develops methodological approaches for sustainable impact assessments for specific trade areas.