Business
The EVFTA split into two separate agreements
The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) will be split into two separate ones: the Free Trade Agreement and the Investment Protection (IP) Agreement.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh put it at the 2018's first meeting of the Inter-sectorial Steering Committee for International Economic Integration, January 11.
Specifically, the Free Trade Agreement shall include the entire content of the current deal but the Investment part consists only the Liberalization of foreign direct investment. The European Commission (EC) and European Parliament (EP) are authorized to sign, approve this agreement, respectively.
Specifically, the Free Trade Agreement shall include the entire content of the current deal but the Investment part consists only the Liberalization of foreign direct investment. The European Commission (EC) and European Parliament (EP) are authorized to sign, approve this agreement, respectively.
At while, the IP Agreement (on investment protection and investment dispute resolution) must be approved by both the EP and the member countries’ parliaments.
Both parties are actively discussing on technical issues of splitting the EVFTA into two agreements, which are expected to be completed by January, 2018, so as to translate and prepare for the official signing.
Earlier, on 16 May 2017, the European Court of Justice issued a formal opinion concerning the EU’s jurisdiction of FTA. Accordingly, the content of indirect investment and the ISDS mechanism will fall under the decision-making authority of both the EU and its member countries, which means this content must be approved by both the EU and member countries to take effective.
Therefore, for implementing EVFTA, at the end of September, 2017, the EU officially proposed the separation of investment protection from EVFTA.
Ambassador Bruno Angelet, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam said in a recent news briefing: “We’re still close to the plan to sign the deal by the summer of 2018 before submitting to EP for ratifying.”
EP ratifying is a complete process. So this’s the time that both Vietnam and European government should focus to prepare the best conditions, he added.
Both parties are actively discussing on technical issues of splitting the EVFTA into two agreements, which are expected to be completed by January, 2018, so as to translate and prepare for the official signing.
Earlier, on 16 May 2017, the European Court of Justice issued a formal opinion concerning the EU’s jurisdiction of FTA. Accordingly, the content of indirect investment and the ISDS mechanism will fall under the decision-making authority of both the EU and its member countries, which means this content must be approved by both the EU and member countries to take effective.
Therefore, for implementing EVFTA, at the end of September, 2017, the EU officially proposed the separation of investment protection from EVFTA.
Ambassador Bruno Angelet, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam said in a recent news briefing: “We’re still close to the plan to sign the deal by the summer of 2018 before submitting to EP for ratifying.”
EP ratifying is a complete process. So this’s the time that both Vietnam and European government should focus to prepare the best conditions, he added.
