At their plenary session in Strasbourg on Wednesday 4 October, the European Commission and MEPs debated whether the European Union and its Member States should withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty, which most MEPs consider to be “a relic of a fossilised past” and “at odds with the Green Deal and the Paris Agreements”, almost a year after the Council of the EU rejected the Commission’s proposal to modernise the Treaty (see EUROPE 13067/8).
Most MEPs expressed their incomprehension at the Council’s stalling and criticised the fact that the Council had not been present during the debate.
Anna Cavazzini (Greens/EFA, German) even tabled a motion to postpone the debate, without success. “Are you aware that Nordstream II and its Russian financiers continue to sue the EU for allegedly harming them?”, she said. “It is the Energy Charter Treaty that is responsible and our citizens must pay for it”, she criticised.
The Treaty, which came into force in 1998, is criticised in its current form for allegedly protecting companies that invest in fossil fuels. It gives investors the possibility of taking action before an arbitration tribunal when they believe they have been wronged by a State.
Given that the Council of the EU did not support the Commission’s modernisation proposal, “we are still exposed to the negative impacts of a Treaty that has not been reformed and is incompatible with the principle of the autonomy of European law”, lamented the European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson.
Note that a clause can be triggered in the event of unilateral withdrawal, protecting existing investments for up to 20 years after withdrawal.
To break this “deadlock”, the Commission has therefore proposed a coordinated exit from the EU and all the Member States (see EUROPE 13218/6), which it presents as “the simplest way in legal and political terms”.
Individually, around ten Member States have already announced their intention to withdraw. While the majority of MEPs support a coordinated withdrawal, Inmaculada Rodríguez-Piñero (S&D, Spanish) pointed out that some EU countries do not wish to withdraw. “The Commission must make a proposal to the Council so that those Member States who wish to remain within it can do so. It is essential to find a solution before the next conference (on the subject), to be held in November”, she added.
Following the debate, Kadri Simson defended the Commission’s position of a coordinated withdrawal. Finally, she gave her assurance that the necessary arguments would be put forward to convince the Council. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)