Is EU Investment Policy Fit for Promoting Sustainable Development? Insights from the EU-Angola SIFA

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2024 9(1), 229-245 | European Forum Insight of 02 July 2024 | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. EU approach to International Investment Law. - ii.1. EU competence over Foreign Direct Investment. - ii.2. Integration of sustainable development into investment agreements. - III. EU-Angola SIFA. - iii.1. History of the agreement. - iii.2. Substantive provisions of the EU-Angola SIFA. - IV. Is the EU-Angola SIFA a step forward towards the promotion of sustainable investments? - iv.1. Differences with other IIAs. - iv.2. An effective way to implement SGDs? - V. Conclusion. | (Abstract) In 2019 the EU Commission launched the ambitious so-called European Green Deal, a set of proposals aimed to revise and update EU legislation and to put in place new initiatives with the goal to ensure that EU policies are in line with climate and SDGs goals. To reach the targets set out by the EU institutions, a crucial role is attributed to private investments, which can mobilize the necessary capital to make feasible the green transition. In this regard, trade agreements are an important driver for sustainable growth both in the EU and in partner countries insofar as they promote private investments in strategic sectors while at the same time they contribute to sustainable development. While the EU Commission has already started to insert trade and sustainable development (TSD) chapters in its trade agreements, another possible path has been identified in the conclusion of new-generation bilateral investment agreements. This Insight examines the recently adopted EU-Angola Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreement (EU-Angola SIFA) as the first of this new generation of investment agreements. Specifically, this Insight points out that, while the agreement is not yet in force and it will take several years to gauge whether it successfully serves as a stimulus to attract sustainable investments, it can already be considered a further attempt to balance the necessity to attract private capitals indispensable for the green transition with the preservation of States’ regulatory powers.