A judgment by the European Court of Justice spelled out preliminary views on the effects of the EU’s International Procurement Instrument on the treatment of non-EU companies involved in public bidding contracts.
Legal disputes
Western Sahara : ECJ confirms illegality of Morocco trade deals, forbids French ban
The Court of Justice of the European Union upheld earlier rulings that found bilateral agreements on agriculture and fisheries with Morocco concluded more than a decade ago are illegal due to their unwarranted coverage of Western Saharan products. A parallel Grand Chamber ruling told France not to unilaterally ban imports …
Blog: The EU’s gripes against Algeria and its import substitution drive
On Friday the European Commission announced it was initiating a new bilateral legal dispute with Algeria under their joint Association Agreement in force since 2005. The ‘note verbale’ it sent to the Algerian government sets out the details of its complaint.
MEPs vote CJEU statute reform: customs cases transferred within Luxembourg court
The European Parliament has voted by a large majority of 600 in favour of a reform of the statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union that could have long-term implications on the way some issues related to international trade policy are adjudicated.
Landmark ruling: ECJ slaps down Cambodia rice import safeguard
It took three and a half years for the General Court in Luxembourg to rule that a now-lapsed three-year safeguard on imports of Indica rice from Cambodia and Myanmar was illegal. EU judges in essence said that the European Commission had not defined the allegedly hurt industry appropriately, that it …
South Africa poultry trade dispute: panel rebuffs EU financial, customs union claims
August is traditionally quiet in European Union trade policy making. Here’s this month’s main Brussels trade story so far. A panel of arbitrators appointed under the 2016 Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and the Southern African Development Community ruled on 3 August that an import safeguard on frozen chicken …
Week in Brussels: IPI, China, French Senators on CETA, DG Trade musical chairs
This has been an intense week in European Union trade policy, with the continuous transatlantic file rolling on, a lot of action in Geneva, the EU and the ACP group finally concluding their post-Cotonou agreement and the European Parliament active on a variety of trade files. MEPs voted to resume …
Week in Brussels: EU wants fossil fuels out of ECT, anti-coercion, 4 new TDI cases, UK data adequacy
It’s been an eventful week, dominated by the new EU trade strategy or Trade Policy Review. Below, other important developments…
Comment: EU Korea labour panel is milestone in Brussels’ labour right strategy
The panel report in the dispute between the EU and South Korea released today will be seen as a milestone in the European Union’s fundamental trade-related labour rights enforcement strategy, even if does not satisfy many political demands of the left-of-centre in the European Parliament nor of European labour unions.
Korea to EU: labour commitments in FTA not a legal obligation
The European Union brought its first dispute under a bilateral free trade agreement against Korea. The EU alleges that Korea’s failure to ratify several International Labour Organisation core conventions, in particular Convention 87 on freedom of association of workers, is a breach of its terms under their 2010 trade pact. …
