BusinessEurope tells EU trade ministers: investment protection a TTIP priority

The EU-US Business Forum was organised on February 28th 2014 by the Greek Presidency in Athens, during the informal meeting of the EU Trade Ministers, and was dedicated to TTIP negotiations. On a panel together with the European Roundtable of Industrialists (ERT), AmCham EU and the US Business Round Table, BusinessEurope Director General Markus J. Beyrer recalled that the EU and the US should be able to deliver an agreement that sets world standards in a number of areas reinforcing the competitiveness of business on both sides of the Atlantic. In order to succeed and meet expectations, it is of utmost importance to maintain a high level of ambition in the negotiations. This implies a strong investment protection chapter is included in the agreement, comprising the investor-to-state dispute settlement mechanism (ISDS). In this context, the public consultation on ISDS should not be considered as a referendum but as a means to obtain concrete and realistic proposals on how the mechanism can be improved.