On Monday 15 July, the EU Council adopted a decision giving a mandate to the European Commission to begin negotiations on the modernisation of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). It also adopted corresponding negotiating directives.
The aim of the negotiations is to modernise the provisions of the ECT so that it takes account of sustainable development and climate goals, as well as modern standards of investment protection and investor-to-state dispute settlement.
The objective of the modernised ECT should be to facilitate investment in the energy sector in a sustainable way, provide for legal certainty and ensure a high level of investment protection. Among the main elements of the EU’s negotiating directives is a focus on ensuring that climate change and clean energy transition goals are reflected in the modernised ECT. This includes a clarification that the EU can require market participants from third countries to comply with applicable EU and member states' laws. The EU will aim to bring the provisions on investment protection in line with the modern standards of agreements recently concluded by the EU and its member states. Link to the texts: https://bit.ly/2SeShPt (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)