Art. 50 procedure soon to be triggered
Prime Minister will soon trigger the art. 50 procedure. More analysis to come …
This week’s round up from Paris and Geneva
Last Monday (6 March) the OECD Global Forum on International Investment took place in Paris. The focus of the meeting was to develop a new, positive narrative regarding the benefits of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), investment treaties and arbitration. The key buzzwords were: substainable, inclusive, good investments, which benefit everybody. While it is to be applauded that…
Appointment as Guest Professor International Investment Law
In recognition of my academic and practice experience, I have been appointed as Guest Professor International Investment Law at the Free University of Brussels, more specifically, the Brussels Diplomatic Academy. This is a great opportunity to transfer my knowledge and expertise in investment law to future diplomats, civil servants, policy makers, lawyers and academics coming from…
The proposal for a multilateral investment court: a work in progress
In my recently published comment in Borderlex, I assess the current situation regarding the proposal of the European Commission for a a multilateral investment court (MIC). This assessment is based on the stakeholder meeting, which took place on 27 Feb in Brussels. My conclusion is that lot’s of important issues remain unclear, for example, about…
Appointed as Mediator for the Energy Community
I am pleased to have been appointed as Mediator for the Energy Community. The Energy Community’s mission is to extend the EU internal energy market to South East Europe and beyond on the basis of a legally binding framework. The principal instrument to achieve this aim is the adoption of the EU’s legislation, the so-called “acquis…
Just published: The CETA-drama: Entering the dark age of protectionism and nationalism?
My guest lecture on the wider implications of the CETA-drama, which I delivered last November at the Innsbruck University, has just been published in the newest issue of Int’l Lis – Corriere trimestrale della litigation internationale. Click on the link to download the PDF file. 9382966_INTL_00134992_2016_03-04_0111 In this lecture, I explain that the CETA-drama, in particular,…
The UK’s push for new trade deals: obstacles and opportunities
In this blogpost for Practical Law Arbitration, I discuss the obstacles and opportunities for the UK to negotiate trade deals. WIth the entering into force of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009, the EU Member States have – to a large extent – lost their competence to freely negotiate trade and investment agreements. The exact scope…
Brexit advisory service launched!
Now that the UK Government published its white paper on Brexit, many complex legal issues arise as to the trade relationship with the EU, but also with third states, such as the US, China. What kind of FTAs/BITs will the UK be able to conclude and with which countries? What kind of dispute settlement mechanisms will…
anti-trade groups as strange bedfellows of Trump
In this comment for Borderlex I analyze a development, which has not yet been noticed very much, namely, the fact that Trump has strange bedfellows from the left-wing anti-trade groups. Since US President Trump took office he has completely reversed the US trade policy from multilateralism to protectionism. He has pulled out the US from TPP…
Conference: Trade and sustainability: CETA dissected
On 26 January, I will participate in the discussion on “Trade and sustainability: CETA dissected” organized by the Asser Instituut in The Hague. The programme is available here: http://www.asser.nl/education-events/