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13 Manchester J. Int'l Econ. L. 357 (2016)
The Many Identities of the European Union: Exploring the Rival Trade and Investment Ambitions of Organization and Members

handle is hein.journals/mjiel13 and id is 380 raw text is: Manchester Journal of International Economic Law Volume 13, Issue 3: 357-387, 2016 The Many Identities of the European Union: Exploring the Rival Trade and Investment Ambitions of Organization and Members Bernhard Maier and Anna Pitaraki* ABSTRACT: From the European Commission's view, an 'ever closer Union' in EU trade and investment policy would be desirable. The disarray, division and confrontation between the EU as represented by the European Commission and its Member States in the trade and investment realms highlights the tension of international organizations law that between the organization on the one and its Member States on the other hand. Brexit could be seen as an extreme example of this tension; as do the protracted and lengthy negotiations for the comprehensive free trade and investment agreement with Canada which has entered into force provisionally. The EU Commission 's interventions in relation to the intra-EU BITframework are another noteworthy illustration of this tension. This article will analyse a number of initiatives of the European Commission in light of Member State policy and comment upon some of the legal issues faced by States, public entities and private actors in the current landscape. 1. INTRODUCTION It is one of the brilliant curiosities of the EU that we can all project our own professional identities onto it. Many constitutional lawyers are wont to see the EU as a sort of constitution beyond the nation-state; for private lawyers, it has above all to do with the free movement of goods, services, capital and workers, and competition law, and is thus predominantly a form of organizing a market across frontiers. For the international lawyer, it is an international organization: it may be an organization sui generis, as is often argued, but an organization still it is. - Professor Jan Klabbers1 At the time of the writing of this article, EU trade policy has received a profound shock. The outcome of the UK European Union membership referendum has called into question some of the most important parameters both in the internal and external EU trade and investment context, including questions of sovereignty, competence and institutional design.2 The controversy * Bernhard Maier, DLA Piper, email: bmjmaier@ gmail.com; Dr. Anna Pitaraki, European University Institute, email: anna.pitaraki@ eui.eu. 1 Jan Klabbers, An Introduction to International Organizations (3rd ed., Cambridge University Press, 2015), at 15, n. 58. 2 See, generally, European Parliament Directorate General for External Policies, Responsibility in Investor State Arbitration in the EU, December 2012, at 9, available at: www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/join/2012/45712

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