The EU has concluded trade agreements with these countries/regions, but both sides are negotiating an update. The EU is the world`s largest donor and the world`s largest target for foreign investment. At the end of 2018, foreign direct investment held by EU resident investors in the rest of the world amounted to €8.75 trillion. Meanwhile, at the end of 2018, foreign direct investment held in the EU by investors from third countries amounted to €7.197 billion. The EU is one of the most open places for investment in the world. Since 2009, the EU has been working on foreign direct investment policy on behalf of EU Member States. The EU`s investment policy aims to facilitate investment, in particular for small and medium-sized enterprises. It should also benefit developing countries by facilitating investment by domestic and foreign investors, the operation of their day-to-day activities and the expansion of their existing investments. The purpose of this series of letters is to provide a synthesis of different chapters of the ten free trade agreements (FTA) that the European Union has recently concluded with developing countries, as well as, where appropriate, other relevant trade agreements. Each letter provides a detailed and schematic overview of a specific set of trade and trade provisions in these agreements. The preface (other languages), published in November 2020 by Sabine Weyand, Director-General of DG Trade, provides an overview of the successes achieved in 2019 and the ongoing work for the EU`s 36 main preferential trade agreements.

The working document attached by the Commission services contains detailed information under the trade and partner agreements. The Regulation sets out the conditions for the application of the more than 1 400 existing bilateral investment agreements, as well as the conditions for EU Member States to amend existing agreements and to negotiate or conclude new ones. These conditions are as follows: the European Commission reports annually on the implementation of its main trade agreements during the previous calendar year. The CEF statement conveys the message that investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) is a flawed mechanism that goes against the right to regulation and limits it. It raises specific concerns about the education sector. In the future, private companies could question ISDS quality and accreditation standards if they feel that these standards are “disguised barriers” or “heavier than necessary”.