This study aims to examine the EU’s normative power through the Common Commercial Policy (CCP) before and after the Treaty of Lisbon entered into force. The study is a comparative study and was carried out through a document study of official documents and treaties. To pursue the aim the following questions were asked: What are the differences and similarities within the EU's common trade policy before and after the introduction of the Treaty of Lisbon and does the Treaty of Lisbon increased the normative ambition of the EU?

In this study Ian Manners theory Normative Power Europe has been categorized into direct normative actions and indirect normative actions. The empirical material is based on literature, primary document, Official Journal of the European Union and EU: s webpage.

The conclusions of this study show that the Treaty of Lisbon has changed the constitutional basis for the common commercial policy in several ways. The CCP has more room after the Treaty of Lisbon to develop and take on direct normative actions. The major difference is that the CCP now endorse all the Union’s objectives, principles and values which give the CCP more opportunities to set normative requirements and gain normative power.