News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Tuesday, September 21, 2021
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 …
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.
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.
Overview of key news items this week in EU trade by Iana Dreyer and Nikos Lavranos.
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.
The latest round of negotiations among the member states of the UNCITRAL Working Group III on ISDS reforms held last week (8-12 February 2021) revealed increasing diversity rather than more unity among the parties on the future of investor-state dispute settlement and EU-sponsored plans for a multilateral court system. The …
The European Union and Canada agreed on joint rules for their planned Investment Court System which is to become part of CETA. Any such court won’t see the light for a long time, but its rules reflect EU ambitions in other areas, namely hopes for a multilateral investment court and …
This week has seen two ‘strategic’ initiatives: the launch of a new paper on EU-US relations and the upgrading of EU-ASEAN relations post RCEP. Here other developments of potential interest. Dombrovksis talks to French Senate – Paris CETA ratification date unclear Nobody knows yet when the French government will put …
Following one week of intense talks in Vienna and online, the reform process of international investor-to-state dispute settlement currently held under the umbrella of the United Nations Commission for International Trade Law’s Working Group III is moving nearer the endgame.
In an interview with Borderlex, the Energy Charter Treaty’s secretary-general Urban Rusnák said: “In one or two years I expect to have a new Energy Charter Treaty as complement to the Paris climate agreement.“
