欧盟《外国补贴白皮书》的投资保护问题刍议

A Comment on the EU's White Paper on Foreign Subsidies:Its Implications to Foreign Investment Protection

2020年6月欧盟委员会发布《外国补贴白皮书》,以外国补贴扭曲欧盟内部市场为由,拟在欧盟贸易防御工具之外引入针对外国补贴的全新审查工具,授权欧盟委员会与相关主管部门在新的监管工具下审查外国企业在欧经营、并购、参与政府采购与使用欧盟资金等行为。拟议的审查工具既有一般性的事后监管工具,也有专门针对企业收购的事前审查工具和主动审查工具,以及针对政府采购的审查工具。就欧盟及其成员国在双边投资协定下的国际义务角度而言,欧盟《外国补贴白皮书》将引发投资保护问题,白皮书计划引入的审查工具涉嫌违反成员国与中国双边投资协定下的国民待遇并构成间接征收。在《中欧双边投资协定》谈判中,中国应进一步限定“监管权”与外国补贴审查的关系以及“征收”定义的公共政策例外,中国也应适时引入对国内补贴的管理机制。

In June 2020,the European Commission issued a White Paper on Foreign Subsidies which proposes new instruments to address so-called“distortive effects”caused by foreign subsidies within the internal market.The White Paper provides at least three options to empower the European Commission and national supervisory authorities to approve or investigate foreign investor or investment in the EU,including their operation,acquisition,biding to public procurement and the use of EU funds,on ground of levelling the playing field.From the perspective of the EU and its Member States'bilateral investment treaties,the proposed instruments pose grave concerns on the EU's obligations to protect foreign investor and investment,especially its international commitment to provide national treatment to foreign investment and not to introduce a measure which constitutes indirect expropriation unless designed to protect legitimate public welfare or public policy objectives in the rare circumstance.The article proposes to confine the space to interpret the terms of the right to regulate and the legitimate public policy exceptions to expropriation in the ongoing negotiation of the China-EU Bilateral Investment Agreement,and also recommends Chinese government to considerate a regulatory mechanism to address domestic subsidies.