THE EU’S DOUBLE AGENDA ON GLOBALISATION: CORPORATE RIGHTS VS PEOPLE’S RIGHTS

The document examines the contradiction between the EU's reluctance to support a binding international mechanism for corporate accountability and its promotion of the Investment Court System (ICS) and a proposed Multilateral Investment Court (MIC). It details how the EU has hindered UN Treaty negotiations through procedural complaints and budget challenges while entrenching investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanisms in agreements with countries such as Canada, Mexico, and Chile.

• The EU has systematically obstructed the UN Treaty on Business and Human Rights process, with EU Member States on the UN Human Rights Committee voting against Resolution 26/9 in 2014 and later attempting to delete the budget for the 2018 intergovernmental working group session.
• While opposing binding human rights obligations for companies, the EU promotes the Investment Court System (ICS), a modified version of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) that retains substantive investor rights such as 'fair and equitable treatment' and 'indirect expropriation'.
• The EU is pushing for the creation of a Multilateral Investment Court (MIC) to institutionalize investor rights, despite a public consultation where an 'overwhelming 97% majority' of participants rejected investor privileges entirely.
• The EU's investment policy expands the risk of investor lawsuits by including ISDS-style provisions in agreements with Canada, Mexico, Chile, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Singapore.
• The document highlights a financial contradiction where the EU cited budget deficits to challenge the UN Treaty process, yet estimates the cost of a Multilateral Investment Court at approximately 5.4 million Euros per year.
• The EU prioritizes non-binding frameworks, such as the UN Guiding Principles (UNGP) and National Action Plans (NAPs), which the document claims are ineffective in providing victims of corporate abuse with enforceable rights.

APA

Friends of the Earth International (n.d.). THE EU’S DOUBLE AGENDA ON GLOBALISATION: CORPORATE RIGHTS VS PEOPLE’S RIGHTS. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/UN-Treaty-Report_v5-SCREEN.pdf

Chicago

Friends of the Earth International. THE EU’S DOUBLE AGENDA ON GLOBALISATION: CORPORATE RIGHTS VS PEOPLE’S RIGHTS. n.d. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/UN-Treaty-Report_v5-SCREEN.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Friends of the Earth International |title=THE EU’S DOUBLE AGENDA ON GLOBALISATION: CORPORATE RIGHTS VS PEOPLE’S RIGHTS |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/UN-Treaty-Report_v5-SCREEN.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{friendsoftheearthinternationalndeus, author = {{Friends of the Earth International}}, title = {{THE EU’S DOUBLE AGENDA ON GLOBALISATION: CORPORATE RIGHTS VS PEOPLE’S RIGHTS}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/UN-Treaty-Report_v5-SCREEN.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }