The Investment Protection Agreements are reciprocal treaties aimed at protecting the international investments of companies by reducing political and legal uncertainty abroad.

Their objective is to minimize political risks and provide greater legal certainty to the investor by recognizing, by the two signatory countries, certain obligations and guarantees to the investments made in both countries reciprocally. The coverage granted by the APPRI is applied to the phase of the post-establishment of the investment, once it has been carried out in accordance with the legislation of the receiving country. Agreements signed by Spain bilaterally, the Reciprocal Investment Protection and Promotion Agreements (APPRIs). Agreements signed by Spain as a member country of the EU, the Investment Protection Agreements (APIs)  and other multilateral treaties.

This protection is enshrined in a series of provisions:

• The mandatory standards of fair and equitable treatment and national treatment, which guarantee non-discriminatory treatment of foreign assets. Under these standards, with the exception of privileges granted to third parties through regional economic integration processes, double taxation agreements, and domestic tax legislation, Spanish investment shall receive treatment no less favorable than that accorded to local investors.
• Expropriation measures, or other measures with effects similar to expropriation, may only be adopted in a non-discriminatory manner, for reasons of public interest, and upon payment of prompt, adequate, and effective compensation.
• The right to the free transfer of capital, profits, and other payments related to the investment.
• A guarantee of compliance with contractual obligations entered into by the host state with the investor.
• Mechanisms to resolve, through international arbitration, any disputes that may arise between investors, and between investors and States.

Next-generation investment protection agreements include provisions on transparency, corporate social responsibility (CSR), human and labor rights, and environmental protection, with the aim of advancing social rights and moving toward a sustainable economy.

Finally, it should be noted that both investment protection standards and the associated enforcement mechanisms are undergoing a process of intense transformation. Consequently, Spain actively participates in the various forums where the reform of the investment arbitration system is being debated, recognizing that this system must be coherent, predictable, impartial, transparent, and accessible to all companies, including SMEs.

Main sections:

• Agreements for reciprocal promotion and protection of Investment
• Protection of EU agreements
• Multilateral Agreements and Negotiations