“We want the single market to work for investors”, said Financial Services Commissioner Mairead McGuinness at the Forum on Protecting and Facilitating Investment in the Single Market on Tuesday 28 June.
Given the current economic circumstances (see EUROPE 12978/30), the Forum 2022 aimed to present the policy approach and toolbox of possible targeted measures on investment protection and facilitation. Panellists and participants discussed how to ensure effective implementation of measures, including optimising feedback channels and monitoring mechanisms to address investment protection issues relevant to the single market.
“Fundamentally, EU law and single market rules provide an effective and comprehensive system of protection for investors”, McGuinness said. But she cited the results of the 2022 Eurobarometer on investment protection: only 56% of companies are convinced that their investments are protected by the law and courts of the country of investment in case of problems.
Investors therefore reported problems in four key areas: - protection of property and compensation in case of expropriation; - the quality of the legislative process; - good administration; - effective courts.
The panellists therefore presented at length the various tools available to stakeholders, particularly at the legal level: - the report on the rule of law; - EU Justice Scoreboard; - the free online service SOLVIT.
“We therefore plan to give these mechanisms - the Rule of Law Report, the EU Justice Scoreboard and the European Semester - an investment protection dimension”, McGuinness said. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)