The Dispute Settlement Practice in the New Generation of EU Trade Agreements: Looking for Sustainability

The EU trade policy has traditionally been major and prominent part of the international action of the Union. More and more characterized by the principle of sustainable development and considered a major driver for the achievement of the SDGs of the UN 2030 Agenda, the common commercial policy of the European Union also promotes a new generation of trade agreements (TAs). The EU TAs are highly innovative and rich instruments in fostering environmental and social standards, biodiversity and gender protection, and fighting climate change while pursuing economic integration between the EU and its trade partners. Recently, the EU has activated the bilateral dispute settlement mechanisms (DSMs) of the new TAs. The reports issued so far consistently emphasize issues related to sustainability. Notably, the Korea - Labour Commitments case specifically focuses on enforcing certain provisions of the TSD Chapter within the EU-South Korea Free Trade Agreement. The purpose of this chapter is to highlight those sustainability issues in the contentious proceedings triggered by the EU. In an effort to propose as complete a picture as possible for our analysis, attention will also be devoted to the practice of bilateral litigation that has not (yet) been settled (the complaint raised by the EU against Algeria) or is being resolved diplomatically (the initiative launched by the Dutch NGO CNV Internationaal).