Last week, 6 of the 14 parliamentary committees in charge of drafting the EP´s position towards the currently negotiated TTIP approved positions critical to the proposed ISDS clauses (investor-state dispute settlement, independent arbitration panels, where investors would sue national governments in case of thwarted investment). Since the EP will have to stamp the final agreement once it is negotiated, this is bad news for the Commission, which is in general in favor of such mechanism, pointing out that it is a very standard clause and is basically in every investment-protection treaty. On the other hand, this move by the parliamentarians could serve Commissioner Malmstroem and her negotiating team to win concessions from the Americans, who push for a strong mechanism. The EC eyes especially a permanent arbitration body or a appeals mechanism to the first-instance ISDS.

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