That was a big week in EU policy. There was an intense European Parliament plenary session during which legislation that will affect trade policy and transatlantic or EU China relations, namely the Digital Markets and Digital Services act as well as the International Procurement Instrument. But there have been other …
Investment
FDI report shows Commission light-touch approach to supervising transactions
Direct investments into the EU from China are on the retreat and the trend could persist, finds the European Commission in its first official report on foreign direct investment and member state screening activities. The report is part of an annual exercise foreseen under a new EU-level screening regulation. The …
UNCITRAL: ISDS ‘code of conduct’ negotiations meet first hurdles
UN Commission for International Trade and Investment Law Working Group III negotiations on ISDS reforms in Vienna started in earnest last week as diplomats got into the thick of talks on an arbitrator investment code. So far there has been little progress as divisions emerged over the scope of the …
ECJ pre-empts circumvention of intra-EU ISDS prohibition
The European Court of Justice confirmed that investor-state arbitration between European Union investors and member states is illegal, even if such arbitration is based on domestic legislation of an EU member state. Whilst EU investors can pursue arbitration internationally under new EU investment protection treaties, a major rule-of-law gap has …
FDI screening: Commission expands scope of covered EU funded projects
The European Commission is broadening the coverage of its two-year-old investment screening regulation to include new EU-funded technological projects. On the face of it, the expansion is relatively modest. But it marks another step in the EU’s shift to taking care of its ‘strategic autonomy’ both in the security and …
ECJ puts paid to intra-EU Energy Charter Treaty investor-state arbitration
The European Court of Justice declared in a judgment on Thursday (2 September) that the investor-state arbitration system under the Energy Charter Treaty is not applicable within the European Union. This effectively puts an end to ECT arbitration within the EU and will significantly increase the pressure on the ongoing …
Week in Brussels: EP in Washington, ISDS Advisory Centre, TSD chapter consultation
Trade policy activity is quieting down somewhat in Brussels ahead of the usual summer lull. Here nonetheless some interesting trade policy highlights for you. Iana Dreyer and Nikos Lavranos.
Comment: Will Solvit-Invest solve it?
The European Commission is planning to propose a mechanism to investors based in the EU that would at least partially compensate for the loss of investment protection guarantees included in bilateral investment treaties signed in an era before Central and Eastern European member states joined the European Union.
Week in Brussels: TRIPS, EU-India summit, ISDS reform
Overview of key news items this week in EU trade by Iana Dreyer and Nikos Lavranos.
ECJ Advocate General: Intra-EU Energy Charter Treaty investor-state arbitration is illegal
The European Court of Justice’s Advocate General Szpunar opined that the investor-state arbitration system under the Energy Charter Treaty is not applicable within the European Union. This will further increase the pressure on the ongoing ECT modernisation process and might very well herald the end of the ECT within the EU.