EU offers investment court for TTIP – EUbusiness Week newsletter 724 – EUbusiness.com

EUbusiness Week 724 top stories: Migrant crisis: EU enlists Africa, courts Turkey; EU backs Israeli settlement product labels; EU downplays cancer risk from weed-killer; Ukraine bans workplace discrimination against gays; EU misspent over EUR 6 bn last year: watchdog; Estonian Air bites dust under EU ruling

Publisher’s Note

Investment protection and resolution of investment disputes has been a thorn in the side of ongoing EU-US talks over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). This week the Commission proposed a new Investment Court System, with fully qualified judges, transparent proceedings and cases decided on the basis of clear rules.

We await the US verdict on this new, modernised system. US agreement would rekindle hopes that a deal on TTIP can be concluded next year – creating the world’s largest free-trade area, and helping to boost economic growth and create jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.
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Regards,

Nick Prag
Publisher, EUbusiness

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1. Migrants summit: EU enlists Africa, courts Turkey

EU leaders on Thursday struck an aid-for-cooperation deal with Africa and proposed a summit this year with Turkey in a two-front push to tackle the migrant crisis.
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EU report slams Turkey for ‘backsliding’ on rights

2. EU backs Israeli settlement product labels

The EU has backed the labelling of products from Israeli settlements, in a move Israel condemned as discriminatory and warned could harm the Middle East peace process.
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EU labels settlement goods, but some embrace the tag

3. EU downplays cancer risk from weed-killer

A highly sensitive EU report claims one of the world’s most popular weed-killers is “unlikely” to cause cancer, countering the UN and handing a victory to agri-business giant Monsanto.
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4. Ukraine bans workplace discrimination against gays

Ukraine’s parliament finally banned discrimination against gays in the workplace during a heated session on legislation that could open the door to visa-free travel to much of the EU in 2016.
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5. EU misspent over EUR 6 bn last year: watchdog

The EU misspent 6.3 billion euros in 2014, says the bloc’s financial watchdog, urging Brussels to take a “wholly new approach” to make its budget more responsive to shocks like the migration crisis.
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6. Estonian Air bites dust under EU ruling

Estonia’s flagship airline announced its bankruptcy after the EU ruled it would have to pay back EUR 85m plus interest of state aid pumped into the struggling business to keep it flying.
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EUROPEAN LAW

Kosovo: Kosovo’s constitutional court on Tuesday suspended the implementation of a key EU-backed agreement with Serbia, after weeks of opposition protests against the deal.
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Belgian court gives Facebook 48 hrs to stop tracking Internet users
Latest news from the European Court of Justice
EU law firms
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Inside the EU Institutions

Council Watch

UK: Prime Minister David Cameron warned Tuesday that Britain could leave the EU if it does not get the reforms it wants, as he laid out demands that European leaders said would be “difficult” to meet in full.
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Tusk says reform deal with Britain ‘very, very tough’
Eurozone ministers deny Greece bailout cash
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Commission Watch

Data transfer: the EU hopes to reach a new deal with the US within three months on data transfers which major firms like Facebook rely on, but demands “bullet-proof” privacy protections.
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EU urges all sides to accept Myanmar vote
Mercosur states near new EU free trade offer
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Parliament Watch

Tax breaks: US online retailer Amazon, search engine giant Google and social network Facebook are to testify at the Parliament next week on the issue of tax breaks for big businesses.
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Iran-EU relations enter key stage, says EP chief
This week Parliament made a formal proposal for a change to EU electoral law, saying Euro-elections should be fought with formally endorsed, EU-wide lead candidates for the Commission presidency; and ECB President Mario Draghi admitted to MEPs that the ECB’s March inflation forecast was too positive.
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EU diary

15-16 Nov: G20 summit
16-17 Nov: Foreign Affairs Council
16 Nov: European Parliament Committee Meetings
16-17 Nov: Agriculture and Fisheries Council
17 Nov: General Affairs Council
19-20 Nov: Regional development for the Danube region
19 Nov: New EU regulation on international successions
The Week Ahead
Long-term diary