Decision (EU) 2018/1676 on the signing of the Investment Protection Agreement between the European Union and Singapore

Summary:

On 18 April 2018 the European Commission presented proposals for Council Decisions on the signing and conclusion of an investment protection agreement (IPA) between the European Union and the Republic of Singapore.

The Council of the European Union adopted a Decision on the signing of the Agreement on 15 October 2018.

Further information:

In December 2009, the Council authorised the Commission to start bilateral negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) with Singapore, which commenced in March 2010. In September 2011 the Council authorised the Commission to extend the on-going negotiations with Singapore to cover also investment protection, based on a new EU competence under the Lisbon Treaty.

The EU-Singapore IPA will ensure a high level of investment protection, while safeguarding the EU’s and Singapore’s rights to regulate and pursue legitimate public policy objectives such as the protection of public health, safety and the environment.

In addition to the above mentioned proposals, the Commission presented on the same date proposals for Council Decisions on the signing and conclusion of the free trade agreement between the European Union and Singapore.

Background:

The dynamically growing Southeast Asian economies, with their over 600 million consumers and a rapidly rising middle class, are key markets for European Union exporters and investors. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) taken as a whole is the EU’s third largest trading partner outside Europe, after the US and China.

Within the ASEAN, Singapore is by far the EU’s largest partner, accounting for slightly under one-third of EU-ASEAN trade in goods and services, and roughly two-thirds of investments between the two regions. Over 10,000 EU companies are established in Singapore and use it as a hub to serve the whole Pacific Rim.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2018)195: Proposal for a Council Decision on the signing of the Investment Protection Agreement between the European Union and Singapore https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2018:195:FIN

ESO: EU and Singapore conclude investment talks http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-eu-and-singapore-conclude-investment-talks/

EUR-Lex: COM(2018)194: Proposal for a Council Decision on the conclusion of the Investment Protection Agreement between the European Union and Singapore https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2018:194:FIN

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