EU Investment policy

EU-US trade deal will lead to a race to the bottom where only big business wins, warns new report

October 2013

A report by the Seattle to Brussels Network demystifies the alleged economic benefits of the deal and exposes how it could harm people, the environment and the economy on both sides of the Atlantic.

Leaked mandate for EU-US free trade deal opens floodgate to multi-million Euro lawsuits by corporations

June 2013

The proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and the US will open the floodgate to multi-million Euro lawsuits from corporations challenging democratic policies to protect the environment and public health, argues a new briefing by Corporate Europe Observatory and the Transnational Institute.

A transatlantic corporate bill of rights

June 2013

This briefing analyses leaked proposals for so-called investor-state dispute settlement under the proposed EU-US deal and reveals a determined lobby campaign from industry lobby groups and law firms to grant unprecedented rights to corporations to sue governments for legislation and regulations that interfere with their profits.

Arbitrators’ Role in the Recent Investment Arbitration Boom

March 2013
Cecilia Olivet
Pia Eberhardt

In the 2012 report Profiting from Injustice, jointly published by Corporate Europe Observatory and the Transnational Institute, we boldly asserted that law firms, arbitrators and third-party funders have, over the past two decades, helped maintain an investor-biased arbitration system and have fuelled the rise in investor-state disputes.[1]

The EU trade and Investment Agenda: quashing the aspirations of the Arab Spring?

March 2013
Roeline Knottnerus

The EU's launch of negotiations for Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements (DCFTAs) with four Arab countries in transition – Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia - looks set to entrench an economic model that was one of the root causes of the Arab Spring.

Beginners Guide to Trade

February 2013
Cecilia Olivet
Pietje Vervest
et al.

This beginners' guide provides a critical perspective on EU’s trade and investment policies and the business interests they serve. TNI worked on the guide with a Europe-wide network of trade activists, belonging to the Seattle to Brussels network.

Intra-EU Bilateral Investment Treaties

February 2013
Cecilia Olivet

Corporations in Western Europe are suing Central and Eastern European countries at international arbitration tribunals through a vast web of intra-EU Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs). Yet while the European Commission has questioned the validity of these BITs, Netherlands, Germany, and the UK, oppose their termination.

BITs that bite into budgets: Will the European Parliament let private lawyers decide?

January 2013

A public discussion of civil society with MEPs, Council & Commission to discuss the Financial Responsibility Regulation and the future EU Investment Policy.

A Response To The Critics Of “Profiting From Injustice”

January 2013
Cecilia Olivet
Pia Eberhardt

Authors of TNI and Corporate European Observatory's Profiting from Injustice report answer the critiques  made by arbitrators and investment lawyers.

Debating Europe "For a just EU investment policy"

December 2011

Watch the heated debate among representatives from the European Commission, the Belgium government and civil society on the issue of EU Investment policy.