This is reported by the news magazine “profil”, citing documents available to him. The EU Commission is therefore thinking specifically about the introduction of an investment protection system within the EU. Economics Minister Margarete Schramböck (ÖVP) supports the initiative. Assuming an Austrian company invests in France and there is a conflict with the French state, the company could – irrespective of national jurisdiction – apply to an “investment court at EU level”, write “profil” and the German “Spiegel” “. This is what it says in a “non-paper”, an unofficial discussion paper of the EU Commission from the end of 2020. At this court, “investors could submit their claims and obtain binding decisions,” according to the draft.
“Optimizing the investment climate in the EU”
By the end of this year, the EU Commission is planning a regulation to “optimize the investment climate in the EU”, according to the agency’s website. Among other things, an “improvement in the enforcement of law in disputes between investors and individual EU states” is needed. According to “profil”, Europe’s companies, Austria in the lead, are lobbying massively for investment protection in the EU. An EU investment court is only one of several possible future institutions that are mentioned in the minutes from Brussels. Alternatively, other measures that would be somewhat less far-reaching are also being debated. A central “ombudsman” could also come to which corporations can turn.
In any case, it should be about a special judicial route for investors, writes the magazine. “Here we are clandestinely working on privileges for corporations so that they no longer have to use ordinary jurisdiction,” criticizes Pia Eberhardt, activist of the NGO “Corporate Europe Observatory” in Brussels (CEO), which deals with lobbying activities in the EU . The CEO is presenting a comprehensive report on the subject these days.
“Legal security is an important factor for the attractiveness of an investment location”, quoted the “profile” from a statement by Economics Minister Schramböck. “We therefore expressly welcome the initiative of the European Commission and hope for rapid progress.” One urges a “timely intensification of the talks”. And: “With regard to concrete measures, we look forward to the proposals of the Commission with great interest and hope for an ambitious proposal.” The proposal should come by the end of the year.
