An independent legal opinion commissioned by the Veblen Institute, PAN Europe and foodwatch concludes that the EU practice of allowing residues of banned pesticides in imported food is highly questionable from an EU law perspective.

Analysis of 28 investment arbitration cases (including threats of claims) brought by sanctioned oligarchs or companies against EU Member States, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Canada, through which they are claiming no less than USD 62 billion in total damages — an amount almost equivalent to the military assistance budget the EU has provided to Ukraine since 2022.

Florian Couveinhes Matsumoto and Sabrina Robert, Professors of Public Law and International Law, have produced for the Veblen Institute an in-depth analysis of the “Rebalancing Mechanism” of the EU-MERCOSUR Free Trade Agreement that we publish today. The note offers a review of rebalancing mechanisms already in place, which highlights the anachronistic nature of including such a mechanism in the EU-Mercosur Agreement; secondly, a detailed analysis of the conditions for implementing this rebalancing mechanism, which leaves many questions unanswered; thirdly, an examination of the risks of capture for the European regulator that arise from this mechanism.