Is the EU-Canada Free Trade Agreement setting a new
standard in investor-state arbitration or eroding investor
rights?
The free trade agreement between the EU and Canada signed in
Ottawa on 26 September 2014 – the so-called
"comprehensive economic trade agreement" (CETA) –
represents a turning point in the history of Europe's approach
to investment policy, and arguable sets the standard for other
investment agreements currently being (re)negotiated. The European
Commission also holds it out as the "most progressive system
to date" for investor-to-state dispute settlements (ISDS).
The provision of CETA, the first agreement signed by the EU
within its exclusive competence over member states' investment
policy following the Lisbon Treaty, may shed light on the likely
tone of future agreements, including the anticipated trade and
investment partnership (TTIP) and trans-Pacific partnership
agreement (TPP) that are set to reshape global trade and
investment. Similar
