Parliament’s trade and energy committees voted for the EU’s withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) on Tuesday, with 58 MEPs in favour, eight against, and two abstaining, according to Euractiv.
The ECT is an international treaty signed by 50 countries to promote co-operation between states on energy issues and to attract and protect investment in energy enterprises in post-Soviet countries.
The trade committee’s rapporteur on the file, Anna Cavazzini, hailed the vote as “a major step in the right direction” and welcomed the EU’s expected withdrawal from the “climate-hostile” ECT.
The Parliament’s vote followed the European Commission’s proposal for a coordinated EU withdrawal from the treaty, tabled last month after several EU countries simultaneously withdrew from the Energy Charter Treaty or announced their intention to withdraw from the ECT. Lead energy committee MEP Marc Botenga stated:
The Energy Charter Treaty allows fossil fuel multinationals to sue states and the EU if climate policies affect their profits. In the midst of a climate crisis, this is a contradiction, in addition to being very costly for taxpayers.
However, Member States, such as Slovakia and Hungary, believe that the ECT can be modernised and brought in line with the EU’s Green Deal goals. According to the Commission’s plan, countries wishing to remain in the ECT can seek to modernise it.
The issue of the EU’s withdrawal from the treaty will be put to a vote in the European Parliament at the next plenary session later this month
