In January 2019 EU member states issued statements with wide-ranging effects for intra-EU investment protection. All member states pledged, among other things, to terminate intra-EU bilateral investment treaties (BITs) by 6 December 2019 and instruct investors not to initiate any new intra-EU investment arbitration proceedings under BITs. This article sheds light on the background of this development and its potential impact on investment protection.