EU member state investment treaties have been criticized for potentially deterring EU countries from pursuing desirable policy measures. This paper explores whether these treaties can nonetheless serve a beneficial geoeconomic function for the EU by safeguarding EU investments in five minerals...

We study how international environmental agreements can take advantage of domestic time-inconsistency problems. Policymakers often prefer future policies to be sustainable, but are tempted to invest less when being in office. We find the equilibrium number of signatory countries to be higher...

This article explores the interplay between economic hegemony and political alignment. Using theoretical and empirical insights from Broner et al. (2024), we posit that hegemonic states, such as the U.S., foster political alignment, which enhances globalization. We use UN voting data to proxy...

This Policy Brief proposes the establishment of an agreement on conformity assessment between the EU and the US that covers machinery and electrical equipment. The initiative aims to increase the number of European and US conformity assessment bodies authorized to test and certify EU and US...

We analyze a two-stage coalition formation game in which the provision of the global public good is not only associated with variable costs but also with fixed costs. We consider the assumptions that signatories share or do not share fixed costs. We show that fixed costs may imply corner...

1. The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement (SFPA) between the European Union (EU) and the Government of Greenland and the Government of Denmark, is one of the most financially significant EU fisheries agreements with a third country for the EU. It is the only EU agreement in northern...

Protecting biodiversity will require the phase-out of harmful production at a large scale. However, some of these stranded investments will be foreign-owned, and can therefore be protected by the more than 2,600 investment treaties that are in force worldwide. These treaties' compensation...

Diplomatic relations have potential to enhance international trade by minimizing potential risks that firms encounter in their foreign operations, especially for developing countries. This has been a driving force for government intervention in international trade and investment through economic...

Can consumers trust that the food they buy in the supermarket, even if imported, is not harmful to their health? What would be the consequences if their trust in existing health and safety standards were to be undermined by recognizing lower foreign standards? Against the backdrop of public...

Internationalization is a crucial process for companies seeking growth and expansion in foreign markets, especially in the Middle East, where economies have been developing and diversifying business opportunities, seeing it as an attractive destination to expand their operations. This study...

Brazil, after signing several traditional Bilateral Investment Treaties without ratifying them, recently shifted towards a different type of bilateral investment agreement, i.e., Investment Cooperation and Facilitation Agreements. Two claims have been made in the literature regarding the...

This Policy Brief proposes the establishment of an agreement on conformity assessment between the EU and the US that covers machinery and electrical equipment. The initiative aims to increase the number of European and US conformity assessment bodies authorized to test and certify EU and US...

This contribution focuses on three aspects of interpretation of investment treaties in which the time element plays an important role. First, it deals with the possibility that a term used in a treaty is capable of evolving over time and its role in investment law. Second, it deals with...

The Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) is a multilateral agreement signed in 1994, designed to promote energy cooperation among its member states. The treaty establishes a legal framework for the protection and promotion of foreign investments in the energy sector, as well as the liberalization of...

This case provides presents an abbreviated Limited Partnership Agreement for a global growth capital fund. The full legal document, normally about 200 pages long, has been boiled down to its essential parts. This case study can be used as a basis for a role play in which participants are split...

Under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, the United States has for the first time implemented a methane emissions fee as a backstop to new methane regulations in the oil and gas sectors. The European Union is also implementing methane regulations on fossil energy. Methane is a short-lived but...

Halting the ongoing global loss of biodiversity will require extensive phase-out of harmful production. A significant share of the affected production will be foreign-owned, and can therefore potentially be covered by investment treaties. These treaties are sometimes alleged to dissuade host...

Contrary to the expectation that only ratifying States comply with ILO Conventions, this article argues that even non-ratifying States improve their domestic standards consistent with ILO Conventions to enhance their legitimacy. Using a new historical database, I track changes in maternity leave...

Plurilateral initiatives are again gaining importance in climate diplomacy as a complement to multilateral efforts – not least in view of the lack of progress in implementing the Paris Agreement and more difficult conditions in the UN process. New alliances are expected to facilitate agreement...

Scholars and negotiators often assert that model treaty texts published by international organizations (IO) shape investment treaty design. This paper empirically investigates this role of IOs as shadow drafters. It tracks the imprint of six IO templates on the text of negotiated international...

The international trade regulatory system is a dynamic system that has been evolving throughout its history. Tension and conflict are part of the system. While calls for the abolition of the principal trade regulation authority, the WTO, have failed to understand this nature of the system,...

The 1970 Warsaw Treaty lists a number of unilateral declarations, primarily on the part of the Federal Republic of Germany. Nowadays, in view of the fundamentally changed circumstances between Germany and Poland, these declarations no longer play a significant role. Nevertheless, it is...

In 2016, the Government of India proposed negotiations on an agreement to facilitate trade in services to complement the 2013 World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement in goods. The proposal did not find much support, but plurilateral talks launched in 2017 on various policy areas...

Recent changes in national competition laws and enforcement guidelines, including those of the European Commission, increase the scope for considering sustainability benefits in the assessment of horizontal cooperations. Abstracting from (standard) arguments that relate to cost sharing,...

Investment arbitration case-law regarding the (autonomous) definition of “taxation measures” under art.21 of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) reveals some inconsistencies. Questions concerning the implications of bona fide taxation, the rationality of the “principal purpose” criterion in...