On 16 May 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union
("CJEU"), in a rare full court composition, delivered its
Opinion in Case 2/15 on the extent of the
Union's exclusive competence to negotiate free trade
agreements.
The case relates to the proposed EU/Singapore free trade
agreement, one of the first "new generation" bilateral
free trade agreements containing, in addition to classical
provisions on the reduction of customs duties and of non-tariff
barriers in the field of trade in goods and services, provisions on
various matters related to trade, such as intellectual property
protection, investment, public procurement, competition and
sustainable development. In accordance with a procedure set out in
Article 218(11) of the Treaty on European Union ("TFEU"),
the Commission submitted a request to the CJEU for an opinion to
determine whether the EU has exclusive competence enabling it to
sign and conclude the envisaged agreement by itself and pursuant to
a
