Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malstrom introduced the debate on draft resolution on TTIP negotiations, its effects on the European citizens, with special focus on investor-state dispute settlements (ISDS) and investment protection rules under the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
Commissioner Malmström presented the Commission’s first thoughts on a way forward for negotiations on investment protection in the TTIP, based on an ambitious reform of existing approaches. She spoke with legislators of the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee. She pointed out that the Commission’s ideas were not final but rather the beginning of a dialogue with Parliament and with EU Member States. INTA Committee and the distinguished panelists looked at potential benefits of TTIP for Europeans as workers, qualified professionals, consumers, entrepreneurs etc. This “bottom-up” event intended to complement sector and issue specific hearings by shedding more light on the concrete results TTIP is expected to deliver.
TTIP has raised concerns over issues such as social and environmental dumping, data protection, and private arbitration courts, ISDS, in particular. Commissioner mentioned underlined the importance to be aware EU’s main competitors on the US market, Canada and Japan have or will have access to investment protection, while without including it in TTIP, Europe will not.
Cecilia Malstrom explained to the MEPs why the Commission wants to include ISDS in TTIP. She mentioned that no US law prohibits discrimination against foreign investors. Putting investment in the deal would close that gap, but only if the commitments are enforceable, and ISDS is the only way to enforce them, because international law cannot be invoked in US courts. She claimed that EU needs the rule of law, not the rule of lawyers. Governments should nominate a limited list of trustworthy arbitrators who would decide on all TTIP investment cases. According to the Commissioner the question about investment in TTIP is not whether we should do it, but how we can do it right. She would like to see a new form of investment arbitration that keeps the benefits but avoids the negatives. She would like to include full article in the text that makes clear that governments are free to pursue public policy objectives and they can choose the level of protection they deem appropriate.
Commissioner concluded that Commission wants to discuss all these ideas with the Council during the informal meeting in Riga next week, in order to come to a common EU position on how to move forward and urged to engage more with European Parliament in preparation of the TTIP. She stressed the importance of the establishment of a multilateral court that goes beyond TTIP for more legitimacy and more efficient use of resources, enabling TTIP to a transparent actor while engaging with the companies but also with individuals from different capacities.