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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 million6 people have signed a self-organized European Citizens Initiative
2 European Commission, Trade: United States, see
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
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