Myths and risks of the EU-Myanmar Investment Protection Agreement – CIDSE

Myths and risks of the EU-Myanmar Investment Protection Agreement

Policy Brief published by Transnational Institute, Paung Ku, KESAN, Myanmar Alliance for Transparency and Accountability (MATA), Land in Our Hands (LIOH) network, The EU-ASEAN FTA campaign network, CIDSE, MISEREOR, Info Birmanie, Secours Catholique–Caritas France, CCFD-Terre Solidaire, Seattle to Brussels Network, Association Internationale de Techniciens, Experts et Chercheurs (AITEC), 11.11.11, September 2017.

As the signing of the EU-Myanmar Investment Protection Agreement (IPA) draws near, concerns over the secrecy surrounding the agreement’s negotiations and the risks it poses abound, alongside many myths about its potential benefits.Myanmar is in the early days of democratization, with many laws and policies from the country’s military era in need of reform. This paper argues that the benefits of the IPA are highly overstated, and the risks seriously underestimated.

The IPA negotiations may be drawing to a close, but there is still time for a much-needed, wide-ranging public debate among parliamentarians and civil society to close the democratic gap opened up by the IPA negotiations. Parliamentarians in Europe and Myanmar have a key role to play in this debate. A series of recommendations that aim to strengthen the Parliamentarians’ role are included in this briefing.

Contact person: Denise Auclair, Senior Policy Advisor (auclair(at)cidse.org)

EN- Joint Policy Brief EU Myanmar September 2017

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