Policy Briefing

The Withdrawal of the EU and the Member States from the Energy Charter Treaty: Who will bear international responsibility for breaches of the Treaty?

18/07/2023

Europe in transition

The legal study investigates what would happen to EU member states that remain in the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) and implement binding EU acts (like a directive) or a court ruling after the EU has withdrawn from the ECT.

The study finds convincing evidence that EU member states could be held responsible by an arbitration tribunal under the ECT for implementing binding EU acts and could be forced to pay compensation to an investor over a breach of provisions in the ECT. This would also be the case, if the member state had no choice but to implement the EU act. The authors recommend that states that want to minimise financial risks and avoid having to pay compensation for implementing binding EU decisions should withdraw from the ECT together with the EU.

Download the full study here.

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CAN Europe empowers civil society organisations to influence the design and development of effective climate change policy in Europe, both in the European Union as well as in its Member States and in European countries outside the EU.