Notification to the Commission
By 8 February 2013 or within 30 days of the date of their accession to the Union, the Member States shall notify the Commission of all bilateral investment agreements with third countries signed before 1 December 2009 or before the date of their accession, whichever is later, that they either wish to maintain in force or permit to enter into force under this Chapter. The notification shall include a copy of those bilateral investment agreements. Member States shall also notify the Commission of any subsequent changes to the status of those agreements.
Maintenance in force
Without prejudice to other obligations of the Member States under Union law, bilateral investment agreements notified pursuant to Article 2 of this Regulation may be maintained in force, or enter into force, in accordance with the TFEU and this Regulation, until a bilateral investment agreement between the Union and the same third country enters into force.
Publication
1. Every 12 months the Commission shall publish in the Official Journal of the European Union a list of the bilateral investment agreements notified pursuant to Article 2, Article 11(6) or Article 12(6).
2. The first publication of the list of bilateral investment agreements referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall take place no later than three months after the deadline for notifications made pursuant to Article 2.
Assessment
The Commission may assess the bilateral investment agreements notified pursuant to Article 2, by evaluating whether one or more of their provisions constitute a serious obstacle to the negotiation or conclusion by the Union of bilateral investment agreements with third countries, with a view to the progressive replacement of the bilateral investment agreements notified pursuant to Article 2.
Duty of cooperation
1. The Member States shall take any appropriate measures to ensure that the provisions of the bilateral investment agreements notified pursuant to Article 2 do not constitute a serious obstacle to the negotiation or conclusion by the Union of bilateral investment agreements with third countries, with a view to the progressive replacement of the bilateral investment agreements notified pursuant to Article 2.
2. If the Commission establishes that one or more of the provisions of a bilateral investment agreement notified pursuant to Article 2 constitute a serious obstacle to the negotiation or conclusion by the Union of bilateral investment agreements with third countries, with a view to the progressive replacement of the bilateral investment agreements notified pursuant to Article 2, the Commission and the Member State concerned shall enter into consultations expeditiously and cooperate with a view to identifying the appropriate actions to resolve the matter. Those consultations shall take no longer than 90 days.
3. Without prejudice to paragraph 1, the Commission may, within 60 days of the end of consultations, indicate the appropriate measures to be taken by the Member State concerned in order to remove the obstacles referred to in paragraph 2.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
