The First Reports of the New EU Trade Agreements’ Dispute Settlement Mechanisms - Looking for Sustainability

The EU trade policy is characterized by the constant effort to respect and promote sustainable development as significantly advanced and articulated in the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the UN 2030 Agenda , with special attention to strengthening the international rule of law . At the bilateral level, the EU pursues its trade agenda of openness, sustainability and assertiveness through the new generation of trade agreements (TAs) – free trade agreements (FTAs) or preferential trade agreements (PTAs) – furthered by the EU within the “Global Europe: Competing in the World” strategy , significantly enhanced and most authoritatively consolidated with the enter into force of the Lisbon Treaty . 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 work is to highlight those sustainability issues in the contentious proceedings triggered by the EU after a brief presentation of the key aspects of the TAs procedures dealing with the complaints raised by the contracting parties.