A group of five EU member states has presented a non-paper proposing to replace individual countries’ bilateral investment protection treaties with a new EU agreement. The proposal by the five countries - Austria, Finland, France, Germany and the Netherlands - comes as the EU is continuing to struggle with opposition to controversial proposals for private tribunals on investor protection (ISDS) in the context of the EU-Canada (CETA) and EU-US (TTIP) trade agreements. Commenting on the new proposals, Green trade spokesperson Ska Keller said:

"This proposal appears to be the latest straw being grasped at in the attempt to preserve the deeply unpopular investor protection provisions. Instead of dealing with the real concerns being raised about providing corporations with private, extra-judicial means to challenge democratically-decide rules and decisions, we have a proposal for an intra-EU ISDS mechanism that yet again ignores this core issue."

Green trade spokesperson Yannick Jadot added:

"Despite uproar in Austria, Germany and France in particular about investor privileges in EU-Canada and EU-US trade deals, these governments seem to be proposing a further expansion of such discriminatory rights for foreign investors operating across borders in Europe. Just as there is no way such provisions should be included in international trade agreements, we should not be creating EU mechanisms that distort the market, undermine our judicial systems and undermine the democratic law-making process."

Richard More O'Ferrall,

Press and media advisor, social media coordinator,

Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament

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