Trade between the European Union (EU) and China was “almost inexistent” 20 years ago and now “represents over 1 billion euros per day,” said the European Court of Justice judge José Luis da Cruz Vilaça in a lecture he gave this week at the Rui Cunha Foundation. Specializing in European law and competition practice, the judge discussed European relations with China and Macau, stating that those relations assumed “strategic relevance” given the increase in trade.
Nevertheless, obstacles to bilateral trade – such as protectionist policies and other foreign-investment hurdles – remain prevalent even within EU member countries. Those obstacles, he said, “harm wealth creation and investment, aggravating the economic crisis.”
To counter some of those obstacles, the EU has been trying to enforce anti-dumping rules that, according to José Vilaça, aim to “assure there is an equilibrium” in trade relations. “Those rules are objective and there is no margin for politics. (…) Any decision is subject to the EU’s General Court review and, in case of appeal, to the European Court of Justice,” he stressed.
Asked to comment on EU/China trading conflicts, the judge said that EU institutions impose “a residual number of defensive trade measures against imports from China.”
Mr Cruz Vilaça praised the Portuguese Golden Residence Permit program (known as Golden Visa), that entitles non-
European Union investors to request a residence permit in Portugal for themselves and close family members, as “one of the most successful in Europe [comparing similar programs introduced by other EU countries], according to international observers.” He said that about 80 pct of the 1,360 visas granted were given to Chinese nationals, representing a total investment of over one billion euros. To add to this, the judge mentioned that Chinese companies’ investment in Portugal has been massive, placing the country in fourth place in terms of Chinese investment in EU countries, only surpassed by the United Kingdom, France and Italy.
Concerning Macau, the speaker
cited a 2011 UE report to state that the value of exports has surged, making Europe the largest commercial partner of the region after China.
Cruz Vilaça holds a law degree and a Master’s in political and economic sciences from the University of Coimbra as well as a doctorate in international economics from the University of Paris I. Between 1980 and 1983, he was a member of the Portuguese government, where he assumed several positions, including secretary of state for European integration. In the private sector he was a partner of PLMJ, one of the leading law firms in Portugal.
The European court of Justice
The European Court of Justice is made up of a panel of 27 judges, one from each EU Member State. In 2012 José Vilaça was put forward by the Portuguese government for the position of Portuguese judge at the highest court in the EU in matters of European Union law.
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