The European Commission (DG FISMA) is organising an Investor Workshop on Investment Protection in the EU on 17 December 2018 in Brussels.
The workshop will take place in the context of the Commission Communication on “Protection of intra-EU investment” adopted on 19 July 2018 and will also touch upon consequences of the Achmea judgment. The Communication aims to strengthen the business environment for EU investors. While EU law may not solve all problems investors can face in their activities, the Communication clarifies how EU law protects EU investors’ rights and how they can enforce those rights before national administrations and courts.
The workshop’s objectives are twofold: raising investors’ awareness of their rights under EU law as laid out in the Communication of 19 July 2018, as well as giving an opportunity for companies to provide feedback on their practical experiences with cross-border investments in the EU.
This workshop also follows-up to Member States’ comments in the Expert Group on intra-EU investment environment, expressing investor protection concerns on behalf of companies established in their countries. Participants will have the opportunity to share their experience directly with the Commission services, including case-studies and practical examples. Direct feedback on investors’ experiences in exercising their EU rights in practice will be of added value for our work in the field.
Please note that places are limited. When confirming places for participants, the Commission services will take into account company size, coverage of different economic sectors, FDI and portfolio investment and geographic coverage to ensure a broad and balanced representation of investors. Please note also that participation costs will not be covered.
Provisional Programme
1) Registration of participants [13.30 -14.00]
2) Welcome and keynote speech (John Berrigan DDG FISMA) [14.00 – 14.15]
3) Presentation of the Communication from the Commission on protection of intra-EU investment (part 1 DG FISMA) [14.15 – 14.25]
4) Panel discussion 1: [14.25 – 15.40]
How does EU law protect investments throughout their life-cycle? How does EU law balance investors’ rights and Member States’ regulation in the public interest?
Chair: Mr. Mario Nava, Director DG FISMA B
Speakers: BusinessEurope (Louisa Santos, Director for International Relations), EFAMA (Vincent Ingham, Director for Regulatory Policy), Academic tbc
Questions and Answers
5) Coffee break 15.40-16.00
6) Presentation of the Communication from the Commission on protection of intra-EU investment (part 2, DG JUST/LS) [16.00 – 16.10]
7) Panel Discussion 2: [16.10 – 17.20]
How can investors enforce their rights under EU law? What are the effective justice standards and judicial remedies at EU and Member States’ level to enforce investors’ rights? What are the available out-of-court prevention and dispute resolution mechanisms?
Chair: Mr. Mario Nava, Director DG FISMA B
Speakers tbc: Eurochambers, Association of the Councils of State and Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions (ACA-Europe), Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE)
Questions and Answers
8) Concluding remarks [17.20 – 17.30]