On Tuesday 20 October 2026, Luxembourg environmental organisation Mouvement Ecologique and development NGO Action Solidarité Tiers Monde (ASTM) called on the Luxembourg government to withdraw from investment treaties containing investor-state arbitration clauses and refrain from signing new agreements with similar provisions.
The organisations issued their joint statement following the Global Action Days, held from Thursday 15 to Saturday 17 October 2026, during which European and international organisations mobilised against investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanisms.
ISDS mechanisms allow foreign investors to bring claims against governments before arbitration tribunals outside national judicial systems if they believe legislation or public policies have negatively affected their investments.
According to the organisations, these mechanisms can discourage governments from introducing environmental and social policies for fear of costly legal proceedings, a phenomenon known as "regulatory chill". They also noted that domestic businesses, civil society organisations and affected communities do not have access to the same arbitration procedures.
According to Mouvement Ecologique and ASTM, Luxembourg remains bound by 60 investment treaties containing ISDS provisions, while seventeen others have been terminated. The organisations stated that Luxembourg had signed four new treaties containing such clauses since 2015.
They highlighted the case of Russian businessman Mikhail Fridman, who initiated arbitration proceedings against Luxembourg in 2024 over the freezing of his assets, seeking $16 billion (approximately €14.5 billion) in compensation.
The organisations argued that the proceedings placed pressure on Luxembourg and contributed to Fridman's subsequent removal from the European Union's sanctions list. They noted that his lawyers had acknowledged Luxembourg's "positive role" in the matter.
According to the statement, the arbitration proceedings remain open.
The organisations also cited Guatemala, where investors have filed nine arbitration claims since 2007, seeking nearly $1.7 billion (€1.5 billion) and securing approximately $158 million (€136 million), according to their statement.
Luxembourg has an investment treaty with Guatemala through the Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union (EU), which includes ISDS provisions and could be terminated from 2027. The organisations argued that maintaining such agreements could undermine Luxembourg's development cooperation efforts, including its recent cooperation agreement with Guatemala.
Mouvement Ecologique and ASTM called on Luxembourg to support an international coalition against ISDS mechanisms, including during the upcoming COP31 climate conference.
They urged the government to terminate or renegotiate existing investment treaties to remove arbitration clauses, including provisions allowing claims after a treaty has ended, and to refrain from signing new agreements containing such mechanisms.
The organisations also proposed including measures against ISDS in a future Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty and negotiating a multilateral agreement under the United Nation (UN) to establish a transparent system for resolving disputes between states and investors.
