New CESI position on trade and investment agreements available

A new CESI position paper on EU free trade and investment agreements, adopted by the CESI Presidium and Board in December 2015, is now available in CESI’s five working languages.

The document can be accessed in the policy positions section of CESI’s website in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian language.

It pins down CESI’s interests with regards to all EU free trade and investment agreements, ranging from TTIP to TiSA and CETA, and stipulates the following:
• The EU must make sure that trade agreements will in no way negatively affect, erode or even dismantle social and labour standards and rights established by international, EU and EU Member States’ legal orders;
• Services of general interest (SGIs) must be fully exempted from trade agreements;
• National rules and award criteria in public procurement mechanisms should be excluded from trade agreements as their definition must remain unchanged in relation to the currently existing EU public procurement rules;
• Special investor protection instruments for cases of investor-state disputes should not run against the governments’ right to meet core public policy objectives; and
• Secrecy in trade negotiations must end.

Contact [email protected] for further information about the position paper.