CYIL 2015

ONDŘEJ SVOBODA CYIL 6 ȍ2015Ȏ programme. His main fields of interests include international economic law and British modern history. Introduction In recent months the negotiations between the European Union and the United States for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) have become increasingly prominent in European public debate, attracting considerable criticism. As a matter of fact, the TTIP has the potential to become the biggest free trade deal in history if concluded. History, however, offers many missed opportunities of close economic transatlantic cooperation, from the New Transatlantic Agenda in 1995 to the High Level Group on Growth and Jobs in 2012. The newest ambitious project negotiations, which started in July 2013, are expected to cover more than 40% of the global GDP and account for large shares of world trade and foreign direct investment (FDI). 2 Among the benefits underlined is an opening of the public procurement market, close regulatory cooperation and other easing of behind the border impediments to trade and investment. 3 In practice, it aims to lower prices for consumers and businesses, as well as increase the variety of available products. Since the talks started, nine negotiating rounds have been held between the EU and US negotiators. 4 The EU is represented at the negotiating table by the European Commission, 5 while the US by the United States Trade Representative. Yet, after more than a year and a half of negotiations, the talks have not produced any concrete draft of what the TTIP agreement would contain. This can seem surprising given that the EU has never seen such an intense debate around a trade policy issue. The growing public attention is, predominantly, translated into hostility towards the agreement. Many anti-globalist, anti-American, anti-EU, anti-free trade or just anti establishment movements concentrate their efforts on torpedoing the deal the same way as they did in the case of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, known under the acronym ACTA, in the European Parliament in July 2012. For now, more than 1.6 million 6 people have signed a self-organized European Citizens Initiative 2 European Commission, Trade: United States, see http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/ countries/united-states/ ; Reducing Transatlantic Barriers to Trade and Investment: An Economic Assessment, Centre for Economic Policy Research (2013), p. 5. 3 OECD, The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership: Why Does It Matter? (13 February 2013), p. 3, see http://www.oecd.org/trade/TTIP.pdf. 4 The current state of play to date, May 2015, when this article was finished. 5 It is interesting to note the multiple roles of the European Commission in relation to the creation and implementation of the EU’s investment policy. The European Commission takes an active part in ongoing disputes, both as amicus curiae and as litigant, e.g. Micula v. Romania / Micula v. European Commission . Further, pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 912/2014 and the EU’s concluded investment chapters, it will play a key role in future disputes. Finally, the European Commission is a negotiator in treaty negotiations, and thus it has particular duties in relationship to other EU organs and civil society. 6 Stop TTIP: Self-organised European Citiziens‘ initiative, see https://stop-ttip.org/.

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