Extraterritoriality and economic coercion.
Committee 2
On 30 June 2014, BNP pleaded guilty to two counts of bribery and to pay a record fine of nearly $9 billion as part of a settlement with US judicial authorities. On 22 December of the same year, Alstom also agreed to plead guilty to corruption charges brought by the US Department of Justice and to pay the US Treasury a fine of 770 million dollars (1). A few months earlier, Alstom had been forced to sell its energy business to General Electric, its major American competitor.
In France, these two cases have revealed the threat posed to our companies by the application of extraterritorial laws by the American justice system. At both French and European level, extraterritoriality has a direct impact on our sovereignty. Concrete courses of action are possible, in particular to protect the defence industry from this threat.
