ABSTRACT
The organisation of intra-European Union (EU) investment protection has been uneasily on the verge of substantial change since the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty. It is widely discussed in the field that the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) included foreign direct investment in the Common Commercial Policy. This chapter addresses some background issues regarding the current state of the intra-EU scope of investment protection, including the most case law. It contrasts the protections offered in Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) with the protections available under EU law. The chapter considers the proposal offered by five member states for a solution to phasing-out the current intra-EU BITs and implementing a multilateral, EU-wide compromise. The right to pursue investor-state dispute resolution has always been considered one of the central provisions of BITs. This protection in the BITs has been identified in arbitral decisions as an essential distinction from EU law.
