Bilateral agreements between the European Union and third countries in the field of foreign investment protection: law enforcement problems

Nowadays, foreign investments are considerably ahead of goods trade, works and services in the development of the cross-border economy and are leading in both developed and developing world regions. The European Union in general and the EU members in particular are at the forefront of inward and outward investments among these regions. In this regard, the law enforcement problem of bilateral agreements on the protection of capital investments concluded by the European Union with third countries is relevant. The author examines the case-law of the European Court of Justice concerning a coverage of the agreements under consideration, the need for their compliance with the standards of the European investment law, and an opportunity to conclude such agreements by the EU members and third countries. The conceptual analysis of agreements between the EU and Russia is carried out; several problems of their law enforcement are revealed. The content of the conflict of the European Union law and the international investment law is provided in the conclusion.