On Tuesday 22 May, the Council of Ministers of the EU adopted a new approach to the negotiation and conclusion of EU trade agreements with third countries that is in line with the ruling of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the EU-Singapore free-trade agreement and the division of powers between the EU and its member states (see EUROPE 11789).
In conclusions, the Council takes note of the Commission’s intention to recommend splitting between separate agreements purely trade provisions falling under the exclusive competence of the EU and provisions relating to investment, which would require approval by the EU and all its member states.
In its judgement, the ECJ ruled that only the provisions relating to non-direct foreign investment and the regime governing dispute settlement between investors and states come under shared competence.
“In future, the EU will negotiate free-trade agreements that fall within exclusive EU competence separately from ‘mixed agreements’, including provisions on investment, which require the agreement of national parliaments. This will show our citizens that the free-trade agreements negotiated by the EU are in their interest and they will support our efforts”, commented Bulgarian Economy Minister Emil Karanikolov.
The conclusions also set out how the Council intends to approach this issue in the future, including in the specific cases of agreements with Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
In line with the new Commission strategy for an EU trade policy more able to harness globalisation proposed in autumn 2017, which stresses the need to ensure the legitimacy and inclusiveness of the negotiation and adoption processes in trade policy, the Council is of the view that member state parliaments, civil society and other interested parties should be kept duly informed from the start of the preparation process for negotiating trade agreements. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)