Investment Protection: EPP Group says new proposal creates better firewall

The European Commission today presented the new system for resolving disputes between investors and states - the Investment Court System. This new system would be used in all ongoing and future EU investment negotiations, including the EU-US negotiations on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

Commenting on the announcement, the EPP Group Spokesman in the International Trade Committee, Daniel Caspary MEP, said: "Today we are opening a new chapter in investment protection policy. The EPP Group has long strived for the true protection of Europe's interests and a new start in investment protection. The proposal for an Investment Court System, as already outlined in April in our Group’s trade policy paper, will be a firewall that will ensure transparency and reliability both for states and investors. It lays the ground for fairness, equitability and trustfulness in investment protection worldwide."

"This is a good proposal which shows that the EU is committed to the rule of law, where neither the US nor EU Member States can behave as they wish towards investors. The proposal is a stepping stone towards further negotiations with our trading partners", added Christofer Fjellner MEP, EPP Group Deputy Spokesman in the International Trade Committee. He also added that the European Commission will now have to show that the new approach will be accepted by our partners and "eventually embraced as a model by other countries in the world for their own trade agreements."

The EPP Group's Rapporteur on TTIP, Godelieve Quisthoudt-Rowohl MEP, stressed: "The proposal clearly addresses the worries of EU citizens expressed over the last few months. The new provisions will protect and guarantee Member States' right to regulate and provide for a fresh and up-to-date system of investment protection and dispute settlement." She welcomed the Commission’s proposal to establish and ensure a new Appeal Tribunal, publicly appointed judges and the dismissal of frivolous claims that "are only some of the presented innovations that will remove the dust of the former dispute settlement system."