Activities of Marie-Pierre VEDRENNE related to 2021/2176(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the future of EU international investment policy
Amendments (28)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the EU is the world’s largest destination and source of inbound and outbound international investments; whereas they contribute to EU growth and job creation;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas none of the investment treaties negotiated by the European Union since the Lisbon Treaty has yet entered into force;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas the six priorities of the European Union between 2019 and 2024 include work to combat climate change and environmental degradation, as well as creating more attractive investment conditions and supporting businesses;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. BWelievcomes that the EU’s investment policy needs to meet the expectations of investors and beneficiary states, but also the EU’s broader economic interests and external policy objectives; considers that EU international investment policy needs to be reformed in order to address a variety of challenges and transform it into an integrated and coherent policy frameworke changes in the EU’s international investment policy; considers that this basis should be built upon in order to address a variety of challenges and transform it into an integrated and coherent policy framework; believes that the EU’s investment policy needs to meet the expectations of investors and beneficiary states, but also the EU’s broader economic interests and external policy objectives;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Highlights the importance to the European economy of internal and external investment and the need to ensure that EU investors abroad are protected;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Underlines that investment can and should have a positive impact on growth, job creation and sustainable development; points out that inbound and outbound investments need to meet the needs of the real economy; calls on the Commission to reviewensure that the EU’s investment policy to ensureis consistencyt with the European Green Deal and the Sobjectives set out in the European Green Deal, the Sustainable Development Goals, our values, including respect for human rights, and our social standards as set out in the European Pillar of Social Rights; calls on the Commission to include a binding chapter on trade and sustainable Ddevelopment Goalin all investment facilitation agreements with third countries;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Points out that the definition of investment as codified in EU IIAs covers not only greenfield investments, but also financial instruments that can be held for purely speculative purposes or for the extraction of r; stresses that European companies need adequate protection of their foreign investments;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Welcomes the new investment protection agreement model drawn up by the Commission; stresses that these new agreements provide better protection for the right of states to regulate so as to defend, in particular, our public services, and fundamentally reform traditional investor-state arbitration mechanisms with the establishment of a public investment court system; regrets, however, that this new approach has not produced the expected results, as no agreement which contains it has yet entered into force;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Stresses that the EU IIAs contribute to the growth of the EU and allow European companies to benefit from uniform rules to access foreign markets;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Urges the Commission, in line with our Green Deal, to exclude investments in fossil fuels or any other activities that pose significant harm to the environment and human rights from treaty protections, in particular investor-state arbitration mechanisms;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Points out that even in the absence of legal proceedings, the explicit or implicit threat of recourse to investment arbitration can enhance the position of investors in negotiations with states (the ‘chilling effect’); stresses, however, that the European approach in new investment protection agreements between the European Union and a third country protects the right of states to regulate, particularly in areas of public interest and order, such as environmental protection and the fight against climate change;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Is concernedNotes that recent EU IIAs still contain broad protection standards which can be used, if interpreted extensively and inappropriately, to challenge legitimate public policies; asks the Commission to only allowfocus protection againston discrimination, direct expropriation and the gross denial of justice, to take account of cases of indirect expropriation in a proportionate and appropriate way, and to ensure that foreign investors are not accorded superior rights to those enjoyed by domestic investors;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Underlines the fact that EU IIAs negotiated after 2009 still include sunset clauses which prevent easy termination; points out thatcalls on the Commission to examine and study the impact of these sunset clauses and to analyse how Member States and the other contracting parties can agree to neutralise sunset clausesthem;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Underlines that the considerable damages awarded by investment tribunals have imposed a significant financial burden on respondent states; points out that the use of valuation methods generally used by adjudicators is highly controversial owing to their very wide margin of discretion and reliance on highly complex and inherently speculative assumptions; invites the Commission to reviewcarry out an in-depth analysis of these provisions and to propose corrective measures for the provisions governing compensation in EU IIAs;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Member States to terminate or modernise any bilateral investment treaties that contain ISDS, any treaties that contain protection standards which are contrary to our objectives and values and go beyond protection against direct and indirect expropriation, nationality-based discrimination or the gross denial of justice, and any treaties that protect fossil fuel investments;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls on the Commission to ensure that all of the Member States’ bilateral investment treaties are fully compatible with EU law and consistent with the EU’s objectives and values; supports the Commission in strictly applying the conditions for authorising the negotiation, signature and conclusion of new agreements by Member States;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Points out that the ECT is the most litigated investment agreement in the world today; welcomes efforts to modernise the ECT and the EU’s position to exclude protection for most fossil fuel investments; notes that investments considered ‘significantly harmful’ under the EU taxonomy would remain protected according to the EU’s position; underlines that amending the ECT requires unanimity of all contracting parties voting at the annual conference; supports the Commission in its wish to modernise the dispute settlement system in order to bring it into line with the new European approach in IIAs; regrets, however, that the modernisation negotiations have reached a stalemate owing to the lack of commitment on the part of third countries and the refusal to make the ECT compatible with the Paris Agreement;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Urges the Commission to ensure that a revised ECT will protect the right of states to regulate and immediately prohibit fossil fuel investors from suing contracting parties for pursuing policies to phase out fossil fuels in line with their commitments under the Paris Agreement; calls on the Commission and the Member States to start preparing a coordinated exit from the ECT with a view to formal submission to the Council and to Parliament in the event of the negotiating objectives not being achieved by June 2022;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Welcomes the Court of Justice’s clarification, in the Komstroy judgment, that ISDS provisions in the ECT are not applicable in the case of intra- EU disputes; notes with concern, however, that the Achmea ruling did not deter arbitration tribunals from continuing to hear intra-EU investment disputes; urges the Member States and the Commission, therefore, to adopt a unanimous position on the inapplicability of the ECT to intra-EU investment disputes;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Welcomes the fact that UNCITRAL Working Group III has been engaging in deliberations on a possible multilateral reform of ISDS since 2017; notes that 60 states agreed by consensus that UNCITRAL’s work must address structural reform options; calls onommends the Commission for its determination and its commitment to constructively engage on all topics raised during UNCITRAL discussions and to take account of them in future EU IIAs; calls on the Commission to continue its work in UNCITRAL in order to ensure, inter alia, the right of states to regulate and greater transparency;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Notes that in the context of the UNCITRAL Working Group III discussions, the EU and its Member States are pursuing the establishment of a standing mechanism to resolve investment disputes: the multilateral investment court; stresses, however, that this proposal does not cover the modernisation of substantive protection standards; calls for the negotiations on this multilateral investment court to include a redress mechanism, strict rules on conflicts of interest and a code of conduct; considers that this new mechanism has to address investors’ obligations, prevent frivolous litigation, preserve the right to regulate in the public interest and avoid regulatory chill, guarantee judicial equality among investors (with particular attention to micro-enterprises and SMEs), independence, transparency and accountability;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Points out that on a global scale in 2017, 2019 and 2020, more investment treaties were terminated than new IIAs concluded; notes that some recently concluded mega-regional IIAs employ an increasingly cautious approach to investor- state adjudication;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Urges the Commission to develop an EU foreign investment strategy to incentivise and protect sustainable investments, in all its dimensions, with or without relying on investor- state adjudication;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 4 a (new)
Subheading 4 a (new)
Enhancing the screening of foreign direct investments in the European Union
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Welcomes the adoption in 2018 of the new foreign investment screening mechanism; stresses that this screening mechanism aims to establish cooperation and potentially limit foreign investments in strategic sectors in order to protect the European Union and its Member States; calls on those Member States which do not yet have one to set up such a national foreign direct investment screening mechanism in order to ensure that European cooperation is effective;
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 b (new)
Paragraph 22 b (new)
22b. Stresses that the purpose of the foreign direct investment screening mechanism is to analyse and screen cases where the acquisition or control of a particular company, infrastructure or technology would create a security or public order risk in the European Union; calls on the Commission to assess the possibility of defining new sectors such as strategic cultural assets or catalogues of cinematographic works as strategic sectors, by means of a delegated act;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 c (new)
Paragraph 22 c (new)
22c. Calls on the Commission, as part of the review clause, to explore the possibility of strengthening the European foreign direct investment screening mechanism to give it, with the agreement of the Member States, the power to block an investment that would create a risk to security and public order;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 d (new)
Paragraph 22 d (new)
22d. Welcomes the Commission’s proposal for an instrument to tackle distortions caused by foreign subsidies that are an unfair form of investment, and calls for its swift adoption; calls on the Commission and the Member States to engage fully in plurilateral negotiations at WTO level in order to tackle distortions of competition, particularly in the area of industrial subsidies;