The strategic use of international trade is an important element in economic development policies. The EU, the world's largest trading bloc, has recognised this since its establishment. This article looks at the importance of agriculture and agricultural trade to the EU and to developing countries. It discusses the current agricultural trade agenda of the World Trade Organisation and examines how efforts to reform the EU's Common Agricultural Policy fit within and influence this framework. It also examines how reforms to the EU's agricultural trade policy can help in achieving the millennium development goals, especially those focused on reducing poverty and hunger, and how these reforms can be undertaken in a way that is sustainable and equitable in terms of their overall impacts on the EU and on developing countries. The article concludes by discussing some opportunities for the EU in advancing developmental or pro-poor agricultural trade policies.