THE European Union (EU) promised Tuesday more talks with campaigners against a free trade accord with the United States, delaying a long-awaited decision on how to protect investors in the world’s biggest trade deal.

    Almost a year after Brussels launched a public consultation to defuse a row over investment protection in the proposed pact, Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said the results showed “a huge scepticism” about arbitration and how to handle it.

    The online consultation was meant to reassure campaigners and give the European Union a new negotiating position, but there is a risk now of a broader delay to an accord with Washington that political leaders would like to see this year.

    “We need to have an open and frank discussion about investment protection,” Malmstrom said after the European Commission released the consultation results. “The consultation clearly shows that there is a huge scepticism,” she said.

    As reported by Reuters in November, the vast majority of the 150,000 replies were submitted by campaigners hostile to the deal. Of those, 70,000 were effectively from seven groups that provided ready-made answers for their supporters.

    They fear U.S. multinationals would use the investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism to challenge food and environmental laws in the EU. (SD-Agencies)