Where Should Europe’s Investment Path Lead?: Reflections on August Reinisch, “Quo Vadis Europe?”

Abstract

Relative to the past policies of its Member States, will the European Union’s new comprehensive international investment policy constitute a step forward, a step backward, or a perpetuation of the status quo? Professor Reinisch’s contribution to this volume opens a wide window on the current state of the debate. His cogent analysis suggests that, at present, all three possibilities remain live ones, although some basic contours of a likely trajectory are beginning to take shape. I use his musings as a springboard to investigate two questions which follow naturally from his. That is, in view of Professor Reinisch’s response to the question “where are you going, Europe?” I ask, first, where should European investment policy go next, and second, who should decide? These normative questions are pressing and require thoughtful answers developed through inter-institutional dialogue. If the new EU-wide investment policy is to succeed, their resolution must take precedence over the more mundane, technical matters that have consumed the bulk of scholarly attention so far