Public Services in EU Trade and Investment Agreements
Series: Legal Issues of Services of General Interest

This book examines the impact of EU trade and investment agreements on public services, a topic that continues to be the subject of heated political debate. It surveys a broad range of EU agreements and provides a comprehensive, up-to-date analysis of the rules and disciplines of such agreements that can affect the provision of public services.

Going beyond the existing literature, it asks whether the treatment of public services in EU trade and investment agreements is coherent with the special status of public services in “internal” EU law, specifically internal market law, while also challenging the notion that trade and investment agreements automatically pose serious threats to public services.

The book will be of keen interest to legal scholars and students specialising in EU and/or international economic law together with national and international policy-makers.

Luigi F. Pedreschi is affiliated to the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, and currently works as a Research Associate at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, also located in Florence.

Specific to this book:

• provides a comprehensive overview of EU trade and investment agreements and the possible effect of such agreements on the public services of EU member states
• offers an in-depth analysis of whether the treatment of public services by EU trade and investment agreements is coherent with the special status of public services in “internal” EU law, specifically internal market law
• makes a valuable contribution to the existing academic literature and broader debates about the social utility of international trade and investment agreements by challenging the notion that trade and investment agreements pose serious threats to public services

The Legal Issues of Services of General Interest Series
The aim of the series Legal Issues of Services of General Interest is to sketch the framework for services of general interest in the EU and to explore the issues raised by developments related to these services.