Transatlantic trade agreements and adjudication without ‘protection of citizens’ and their fundamental rights? College of Europe Policy Brief #15.16, October 2016

Petersmann, Ernst-Ulrich (2016) Transatlantic trade agreements and adjudication without ‘protection of citizens’ and their fundamental rights? College of Europe Policy Brief #15.16, October 2016. [Policy Paper]

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Abstract

Executive Summary > The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (EUCFR) is an integral part of EU law constituting, limiting, regulating and justifying EU powers and their exercise, including trade policy powers and EU free trade agreements. > The EUCFR protects fundamental rights, democracy, ‘public reason’, democratic support and legitimacy of the EU, the rule of law and other public goods also in the trade policy area. > The EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership risk dis-empowering citizens, undermining their fundamental rights and judicial remedies, and ‘re-fragmenting’ international investment law. > EU citizens rightly challenge the disregard by EU institutions for the Lisbon Treaty’s ‘cosmopolitan foreign policy mandate’ for external EU trade and investment policies and EU trade agreements. > Rather than exercising EU leadership for citizenoriented reforms of trade and investment agreements, EU institutions emulate poweroriented foreign trade policies by excluding rights of citizens under free trade agreements so as to limit their own legal, democratic and judicial accountabilities vis-à-vis citizens. > The potential welfare gains and ‘geopolitical importance’ of transatlantic free trade agreements justify civil society struggles against a ‘refeudalization' of EU powers.

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