Spanish Vice President and Minister of Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, will announce Spain’s decision to leave the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) very soon, a source told EUROPE on Thursday 13 October, confirming information published by Politico.
When asked about the procedure to be followed, the same source told us that the Spanish government had not yet clarified the situation. In particular, the question is whether withdrawal from the ECT requires the approval of the Spanish parliament.
Madrid’s decision reflects its dissatisfaction with the agreement in principle reached between the contracting parties on Friday 24 June to modernise the treaty (see EUROPE 12979/10).
Indeed, Spain was part of the group of countries arguing in favour of an ambitious revision of the ECT, or, failing that, for a unilateral exit from the EU and its Member States (see EUROPE 12658/6).
If the Spanish government’s decision goes ahead, Spain will be the second EU country to exit the ECT, after Italy in 2016.
Warsaw has also initiated the process. Last week, the lower house of the Polish parliament voted in favour of a law to withdraw from the ECT. The law still needs to be approved by the senate.
It should be noted that the ECT nevertheless contains a clause allowing investors to sue a state for 20 years after its withdrawal from the ECT for investments made before the date of exit from the Treaty. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)