Date: 1st August 2018
Author: BETTER FINANCE
With its Communication of July 19, the European Commission reaffirmed the illegality of intra-EU bilateral investment treaties(intra-EU BITs) and stated that ”EU investors cannot invoke intra-EU BITs, which are incompatible with Union law and no longer necessary in the single market’’.
Intra-EU BITs treaties are international agreements that focus on investor protection and assure citizens and companies of a certain Member State the right to invest in a different Country. Following the judgment of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the Achmea case emitted last March, the European Commission has reminded the Member States and requests for the agreements still in force to be terminated. The Judgment of the ECJ confirmed the incompatibility of intra-EU BITs with EU law and explained that their norms do not have legal effect. The existence of intra-EU BITs undermines the system of legal remedies foreseen in the EU Treaties posing a threat to the autonomy of EU law and the principle of mutual trust between the Member States.