Sixteen EU Member States, including Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, have not yet ratified the CETA.
This agreement, known as the "mixed" competence agreement, is therefore still implemented on a provisional basis (see EUROPE 12100/19).
Several of these countries preferred to wait for the opinion of the European Court of Justice on the compliance of the investment tribunal included in the Treaty with European law.
Driven by the reluctance of its French-speaking elements, Belgium brought an action before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in September 2017 concerning the Investment Court System (ICS)), (see EUROPE 11856/9), a judicial mechanism between investors and States.
It had to this end submitted several questions to the court, concerning: 1) the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court over the definitive interpretation of EU law, 2) the general principle of equal treatment and the requirement that EU law be effective, 3) the right of access to a tribunal 4) which is independent and impartial.
The Commission will decide on Opinion 1/17 on 30 April 2019.
According to the preliminary conclusions of the Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) Yves Bot, published on 29 January, the ICS mechanism is compatible with European Union law (see EUROPE 12182/18).
As for Italy, it still considers the protection provided for in the Agreement for geographical indications to be insufficient. (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)