The freshly released European Parliament legal service’s opinion on the EU’s investor court system put forward in its Canadian trade agreement CETA was bound to displease investment arbitration and investment treaty critics: it indeed declared the system compatible with EU law. The environmental NGO Client Earth, an activist critic of international investment protection treaties, released a legal opinion …
North America
What the European Parliament legal service says about CETA’s investment chapter
A report by the European Parliament’s legal service released early September considers that the controversial chapter on investment protection in the Canada EU CETA trade agreement is compatible with EU law. The question of legality of international arbitration tribunals and international courts has become a touchy topic with the controversy over …
In brief: TTIP – Juncker pledges negotiation continuation – France tones down calls for suspension
EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said the Commission intended to continue negotiating the transatlantic trade agreement TTIP despite calls from some EU member states to halt the talks. Washington and some capitals in the EU hope to finalise the three year old talks by the end of the year. …
EP: Social-democrats divided over investment, labour, and public services in CETA
An intense debate at the trade committee of the European Parliament revealed the current mood over the EU Canadian trade agreement awaiting signature and ratification this autumn. Whereas representatives of the leading European political group the EPP have generally wholeheartedly endorsed the deal, the left-of-centre S&D group is divided. …
MEP Reding follows French government in calls for TTIP talk suspension
Generally reactions to German chancellor Sigmar Gabriel’s late August statements that TTIP negotiations have failed and to France’s Matthias Fekl’s wish to see the EU walk away from the negotiation table have not been very well received. At the EU Parliament, France has found at least one fan, though, under the …
Analysis: TTIP talks won’t stop – but EU political forces are aligning ahead of 2016 deadline
What is going on? This the most frequent question one reads and hears after German economy minister Sigmar Gabriel stated that TTIP negotiations had in effect failed, and after on Tuesday (30 August) French secretary of state in charge of trade Matthias Fekl announced that he wanted to see the TTIP negotiations …
“Full stop” to TTIP talks – translation and transcript of Matthias Fekl interview
After Sigmar Gabriel’s shock statements about the state of the TTIP negotiations, France has weighed in with its Secretary of State’s announcement this morning (30 August 2016) on French television that Paris wants a full halt to the talks. Full details – an nuances – in the full English translation of the interview …
Outlook: A fateful autumn for the EU’s trade policy
This autumn will be a moment of truth for the EU’s trade policy – as for the EU as a whole. At the end of this year, we will have two answers: whether the EU can still credibly sign international agreements, and whether the EU can cope with the tremendous …
Comment: “TTIP failed”: is Sigmar Gabriel right?
The media is all abuzz about Sigmar Gabriel’s statement made during a conversation with the press over the week-end that “TTIP has failed”, not least because of US demands which the EU cannot accept. How credible is that statement? Is TTIP “dead”? No, Sigmar Gabriel is simply doing domestic politics, …
EU trade policy August round-up
Two EU wins over Russia at the WTO and the German politics of CETA have dominated the month of August. WTO disputes dominate the picture The EU has imposed retroactive antidumping duties on colled-rolled steel from Russia and China. “The investigation was initiated on 14 May 2015 following a …
