On the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the United Nations Convention on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor-State Arbitration

(07011/2024 – C100080/2024 – 2015/0012(NLE))

(Consent)

The European Parliament,

–having regard to the draft Council decision (07011/2024),

–having regard to the United Nations Convention on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor-State Arbitration (07012/2024),

–having regard to the request for consent submitted by the Council in accordance with Article 207(4) first subparagraph and Article 218(6) second subparagraph, point (a) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (C100080/2024),

–having regard to Rule 107(1) and (4) and Rule 117(7) of its Rules of Procedure,

–having regard to the recommendation of the Committee on International Trade (A100000/2024),

1.Gives its consent to the conclusion of the agreement;

2.Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States, as well as to the UNCITRAL Secretariat.

The UN ‘Mauritius’ Convention on transparency for Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) marks a step towards greater public access to documents and hearings, as well as the inclusion of civil society in disputes brought by investors against States under investment treaties.

Its ratification by the EU has been a long standing request by the Parliament, including in the 2022 European Parliament resolution on the Future of EU International Investment Policy. Under the arbitration rules that commonly govern ISDS proceedings, disputes can remain hidden from public view from their launch until their conclusion. One of the parties can demand this secrecy, even though cases can target democratically decided measures, and lead to awards in the billions. Ensuring full transparency should be a minimum requirement.

The Mauritius Convention facilitates the application of the United Nations Commission of International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Transparency Rules to investment treaties concluded prior to 1 April 2014. These rules require all documents, including tribunal decisions and party submissions, to be made public; that hearings be open to the public; and that interested parties, such as civil society organisations, be allowed to make submissions to the tribunal. All EU agreements concluded after 2014 already include similar transparency requirements.

The convention retroactively applies to investment treaties signed before the introduction of the UNCITRAL transparency rules. Contracting parties who ratify the convention can have the new rules applied in disputes under older treaties, without the need to renegotiate them individually.

Approximately 1,200 agreements involving EU Member States fall under the scope of the Convention. The Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) is the only treaty covered at EU level.

Ratifying the Convention is a first step in the broader reform of investment dispute settlement within the framework of the United Nations Commission for International Trade Law for the creation of a Multilateral Investment Court. Its method should be replicated, for instance in the framework of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's work to align investment treaties with the Paris Agreement climate goals.