On Friday 7 July, the European Commission proposed that the EU Member States and Euratom should withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty in a coordinated fashion.
“In its current form, the Treaty is not in line with the EU’s investment policy or its energy and climate objectives. An unmodernised treaty is simply not in line with the EU’s sustainable vision of the future and the investments needed for the transition to clean energy”, commented European Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson.
The Treaty is effectively unchanged since its adoption in the 1990s. In addition to proposing a coordinated exit, the Commission is also withdrawing, for the sake of legal clarity, its previous proposal for ratification of the modernised Treaty, which did not receive the required majority among the Member States (see EUROPE 13174/13).
These legal proposals will now be put to a qualified majority vote in the EU Council. The Commission expects an initial informal discussion to take place between the energy ministers at their informal meeting in Valladolid, Spain, on 11 and 12 July (see other news).
To see the proposed withdrawal: https://aeur.eu/f/7z3 (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)