The EU has been at the forefront of efforts to consider environmental and development issues in trade agreements. EU new generation agreements include a ‘Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) Chapter’ as a standard element whereby parties agree to various commitments on environmental and labour protection. But the EU’s approach came under severe criticism during…

The post-Lisbon Common Commercial Policy in the field of foreign investment policy The Lisbon Treaty for the first time expressly attributed exclusive competence to the EU in the area of foreign investment by adding foreign direct investment (FDI) to the scope of the Common Commercial Policy (CCP). The European Commission took not long to put these newly-won competences…