European Council seals EU exit from Energy Charter Treaty
Berlin, 30.05: DThe Berlin-based non-governmental organisation PowerShift commented on today's final approval by the European Council of the EU's withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT).
Fabian Flues, Trade and Investment Policy Officer at PowerShift:
"With the consent of the European Council, the EU is finalising its withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty. This is a milestone for climate protection. For the EU member states, such as Austria or Belgium, which have not yet left, it is now high time to follow suit. The risk of multi-million-dollar lawsuits under the treaty is now increasing significantly for these countries. For Germany, there is also a considerable risk in the many old investment protection treaties, which can be used as a basis for lawsuits against climate protection. These legacy issues must finally be addressed.”
Context:
At the end of April, the European Parliament overwhelmingly gave its consent to the EU's withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty. With the approval of the European Council, the EU's withdrawal is now complete.
Million-dollar lawsuits against state climate and environmental protection measures by investors before controversial arbitral tribunals have repeatedly brought the contract into criticism. A legal opinion had shown that for EU member countries after an EU exit, the risk of being sued under the ECT even increases. Therefore, it is expected that other EU countries will leave the treaty.
Germany continues to be part of 114 bilateral investment protection treaties that allow companies to take legal action against government regulatory measures. In its coalition agreement, the federal government had announced its intention to reform.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact:
- Fabian Flues, Trade and Investment Policy Officer at PowerShift, fabian.flues@power-shift.de, 0159 06113733
- Adrian Bornmann, Public Relations Officer at PowerShift, adrian.bornmann@power-shift.de, 017672773137
More information on the topic:
- PowerShift study “Following the EU’s withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty”: https://power-shift.de/eu-austritt-energiecharta-vertrag/
