Horia Ciurtin walks us through the dynamics unleashed by an ongoing divisive Commission crackdown on intra-EU bilateral investment treaties.
Author: Iana Dreyer
CETA: Wallonia obtains right to pull out, safeguard clauses
The government of Wallonia and the federal government of Belgium have reached an agreement on Wednesday (26 October 2016) afternoon that is expected to pave the way for a signature of CETA between the EU and Canada. But the final details of the deal are yet to be hammered out …
Last-ditch attempts to salvage Ukraine Association deal in Netherlands
The EU Ukraine Association Agreement, signed in 2014, and already partially in force, is at risk. The Dutch parliament is scrambling for a way to get the deal ratified despite a negative vote during a referendum in April 2016, and following a rebuff by the Council to Dutch requests for a common …
Sri Lanka tries to narrow down EU demands in GSP Plus bid
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and Ambassador Rodney Perera in Brussels on 20 October 2016. Credit: Iana Dreyer It should be simple and straightforward: if Sri Lanka applies the 27 human rights, labour and environmental conventions listed by the EU’s regulation, the country should be able to benefit from …
Early possible scenarios for CETA
Belgium is still not in a position to endorse the signing of CETA. Despite this announcement, following a telephone conversation between Council president Donald Tusk and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Canada and the EU have decided not yet to cancel a bilateral summit scheduled on Thursday (27 October 2016), …
TiSA parties toying with idea of doing deal without EU
The EU’s paralysis over trade policy, its snail-paced moves to table an offer on data flows in the TiSA talks (the EU has still not tabled one), and Brussels’ continued refusal to ban new restrictions on future yet unknown ‘new services’ is leading some of its counterparts in the ongoing services talks to …
EU should engage on data flows in TTIP to avoid WTO challenge, argues new legal study
Council tries to keep flame alive on TTIP but agrees on little on trade
There was little agreement on key trade matters at the heads of government gathering in Brussels on Friday (21 October 2017). It wasn’t a foregone conclusion. On Thursday, it was not clear whether the member states would continue endorsing the pursuit of TTIP negotiations at the October Council meeting that …
Wallonia: We are the 0.45 percent
A graph put together by Erik van der Marel, a Brussels-based economist and author of the blog Bruxenomics, shows that Wallonia, with its 3.5 million people, accounts for 0.45 percent of the EU’s trade with Canada. So much for people power! Sources for the graph: Erik’s calculations using Eurostat; OECD; Politico. Note: based on …
TiSA: EU to table final market access offer
The last weeks of Trade in Services Agreement negotiations are ahead of us. Today (Friday 21 October) is the deadline for all parties to the talks to table their final market access offer. All eyes are on the EU’s offer, as all member have found Brussels’ last offer tabled in 2015 very …
