Brussels, 01/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - As the consultation on investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) launched by the Commission draws to a close on 16 July, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) reaffirmed its total opposition on 1 July to the inclusion of ISDS in the future free-trade agreement between the EU and the USA - the transatlantic trade and investment partnership agreement (TTIP).
“The Commission closes the TTIP consultation - but is it listening? Is the European Commission ready to back down on awarding benefits to US companies which are not given to EU companies?” the ETUC asks in a press release.
“Trade unionists are particularly concerned at statements from DG Trade implying that the consultation is about a reform of the ISDS system and is not open to a decisive rejection”, states ETUC Secretary General Bernadette Ségol in a letter to European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht on 25 June. “The ETUC is fundamentally opposed to the inclusion of ISDS in the transatlantic trade and investment partnership”, she adds.
“ISDS establishes a system of judicial protection which is only available for foreign investors. By definition, this additional system awards benefits to foreign companies which are not given to domestic companies. This discriminates against domestic companies. ISDS destabilises the domestic judicial system because public measures can be subject to two diverging legal assessments”, says the ETUC in its official response to the consultation.
In addition, threatening an appeal to the Court of Justice, the ETUC calls for the ISDS issue to be frozen in the trade agreement with Canada - the CETA (which has still not been finalised) - until it is resolved in the TTIP discussions.
Civil society is concerned about the inclusion of an ISDS mechanism in the TTIP agreement as they fear this would allow multinationals to take states to court when the multinationals consider they have been wronged by public policies. NGOs and unions fear that such a mechanism might discourage states from regulating on social, environmental and health protection issues. The legal proceedings of world tobacco leader Philip Morris against Australia or Uruguay regarding the health warnings on cigarette packets constitute a dangerous precedent on this, they say. (EH)