Negotiations on international trade or the environment are held at several different levels : among all members of the debate, representative groups of states, smaller groups of key countries, and between the twomain players in the negotiation. This setup is challenged by new international balances of power, the discrepancy between short-termpoliticalmandates and drawn-out negotiation on long-termissues, and by new internal factors thatmust be taken into account. Thismay well be an opportunity to review the structure of negotiations and the EU and the UN’s place within these debates.