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2021-12-14

What Energy Charter treaty? Never heard of it

Investigate Europe draws the veil aside ...

"After two years of dialogue, no deadline has emerged to reform and modernise this pact, which allows big emitters to sue states for enacting green reforms"

To me, that sounds like a ball and chain around the ankle of the green agenda. 

So it's no further surprise to know that many states are seeking to renegotiate the treaty to permit more "clean green" energy and less "unclean" energy, and still less of a surprise to learn that the "big emitters" are dragging their feet.

"Just in Europe, the treaty protects €344.6 billion of fossil infrastructure" (of which the UK hosts by far the greatest share at €140.7 Bn according to IE).

With the "ECT Conference" taking place today and tomorrow, Investigate Europe reports upon the tangled legal web that I'm guessing few knew had been woven.

"The process is difficult and could take years, with no concrete deadline in sight"

No surprise there then.

"The European Commission tells IE that work will continue into 2022, with a summit in June in a bid to find a consensus. Yet, faced with stalled negotiations and the limited clout of EU judges, some governments are losing faith ..."

"In order to quit the treaty as a bloc, a qualified majority is needed (55% of member states and at least 65% of the EU population). But Brussels dreads the consequences in the absence of a unanimous vote in the Council, if that means forcing countries out against their will"

I suspect more lashings of Eurofudge will be extruded shortly ... probably to very little effect.

After all, with many European populations now regularly protesting on the streets against Covid response overreach, haven't the EU Commission got more pressing matters to attend to?


No doubt the UK (as an EU member state when the Treaty was negotiated) is fully enmeshed in its provisions, but as we have now left the EU it may in theory be marginally easier to withdraw from it as an independent nation. Whether is true given our huge share of the protected infrastructure remains to be seen.