European Commission gives mandate to Negotitions between EU and China concerning new IPA

By Thomas Budzynski ECOVIS Duesseldorf

The Ministers of the Foreign Affairs Council adopted a mandate which allows the European Commission to negotiate an investment agreement with China.

An EU-China investment agreement would streamline the existing bilateral investment protection agreements (IPAs) between China and the EU Member States into a single agreement. The main objectives of an agreement at EU level are to:

–  improve legal certainty regarding treatment of EU investors in China;

–  reduce the barriers to investing in China;

–  improve protection of EU investments in China as well as Chinese investments in the EU Member States;

–  improve access for European investments to the Chinese market; and

–  eventually increase EU-China investment flows.