Developments of Investment Arbitration in the European Union: Achmea and Beyond

Abstract

The European Union (EU)’s assumption of investment law competences has not been consistent over the years. The European Commission has followed a piecemeal and not always adequate approach. This becomes particularly clear in the Commission’s contemporary treatment of the pre-Lisbon Treaty investment system, which relied on bilateral investment treaties (BITs) signed between the EU Member States with investment arbitration provisions.1 Part of the lack of a common position on investment pre-Lisbon, the EU also had very limited powers to negotiate investment agreements with third states.