Legal Issues within EU and Member States concerning Bilateral Investments Treaties

Abstract

The article’s aim is to analyse the legal issues concerning the compatibility with the EU law of Bilateral Investments Treaties concluded between Member States themselves (intra-EU BITs), on the one hand, and Member State and Third State on the other hand (extra-EU BITs). The questions arise as a consequence of the shift of competence for Foreign Direct Investments from the Member States to the EU, so it is approached as a problem of compatibility between sources of law that belong to different legal systems: international law and European Union law. The author’s conclusion is that the EU has, despite several difficulties, succeeded in preserving the autonomy and the primacy of its legal order.