News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Friday, April 25, 2025
It may become one of the fastest pieces of legislation ever adopted in the European Union. Plans are moving quickly to introduce EU-wide rules for the screening of foreign direct investments. These were introduced in September 2017 in response to calls from France, Germany and Italy to keep an eye …
The European Parliament wants to enact legislation on the screening of foreign takeovers swiftly, before EU institutions shut down in the early months of next year ahead of European elections. This is why the committee on international trade voted for anticipated inter-institutional – or ‘trilogue’ – negotiations with the Council …
European lawmakers are in for a busy week, with key debates and plenary votes planned on key issues including looming US tariffs on steel and aluminium and how to protect the bloc from dumped or subsidised imports from non-EU trade partners. INTA to vote on investment screening draft …
Two events will happen in Brussels this week that merit close attention: the European Parliament’s international trade committee will discuss a range of headline-worthy issues during its two-day meeting and the Working Party on Trade Questions will discuss investment screening. The churn on Article 50 negotiations between the EU27 and …
A read through amendments tabled by trade committee members in preparation of a report on and trip to China highlights Europe’s divisions vis-à-vis the Asian country. One of the few areas of consensus is support for Taiwan. A delegation of European parliamentarians is in China this week to assess EU-China …
This week, the European Parliament’s international trade committee debated the 474 amendments tabled by MEPs on the EU’s investment screening legislation. Our analysis of the amendments and of the debate reveals there are eight key dividing lines in the EU over the proposal tabled by the European Commission last autumn. …
The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law has an opportunity this week to keep pace with the other developments around the world challenging ISDS by using bold and creative thinking. Such innovation is not beyond UNCITRAL’s mandate, argues Rob Howse. Nothing unites critics of globalization these days …
Put on your seatbelt and get prepared for a crazy ride this week.
Initiatives and discussions involving large groups of countries on issues such as electronic commerce and investment facilitation signal that global trade rules are set for a revamp, says Alan Wolff, deputy director-general of the World Trade Organization. “The WTO rulebook very likely will be updated to address current and …
It was another packed week in trade, with the trans-Atlantic relationship on top of everyone’s mind. We’ve covered some of it here, as well as developments in the run-up to the launch of EU-Australia and EU-New Zealand free trade talks. There’s been a lot of movement between the EU and …
