ZEIT
02.09.2015

EU-Kommissarin Cecilia Malmström will Freihandelsvertrag CETA nicht mehr neu verhandeln
Von Petra Pinzler

Der europäisch-kanadische Freihandelsvertrag CETA soll nicht noch einmal neu verhandelt werden. Trotz heftiger Kritik an dem Vertrag und besonders an der Einrichtung privater Schiedsgerichte, lehnt EU-Kommissarin Cecilia Malmström grundsätzliche Änderungen ab.

Zum Beitrag

Weiterer Bericht zum Thema:
Wirtschaft
02.09.2015

Malmström will Freihandelsvertrag CETA nicht mehr neu verhandeln.

Zum Artikel

Zur Antwort von Malmström vom 1. September

Answer given by Ms Malmström on behalf of the Commission

CETA has a review clause on an appeal mechanism for ISDS. The Commission will discuss with Canada the modalities and timetable for introducing one in CETA as soon as possible.

CETA reflects the new approach to ISDS and investment protection: full transparency and greater respect for the right to regulate. The Commission does not envisage re-opening the CETA negotiations, concluded in 2014. Nevertheless, it will discuss with Canada ways to fine-tune this approach, in line with recent discussions in the EU.

The ratification process will start when the legal revision and the translations into the EU official languages are ready. As for TTIP, negotiations are ongoing, and it is premature to speculate on its ratification.

CETA does not provide for ‘fork-in-the-road’, but for ‘no-U-turn’ approach. Investors are free to go directly to ISDS or try domestic remedies first. ISDS appears as a safety net in the event problems arise in the domestic courts, or where recourse to them is not viable.

Possible claims under domestic law differ from those under international law. CETA provisions are not enforceable before domestic courts, while only ISDS tribunals can enforce investment protection provisions. A requirement to exhaust domestic remedies would force the investor to go to domestic courts even if his claim could not be addressed, e.g. because there is no prohibition of discrimination of foreign investors in domestic law.