EU to leave Energy Charter Treaty

European Union energy ministers agreed Thursday to leave an international energy treaty over concerns that it was no longer in line with the Paris agreement on climate change. Today's formal adoption gives the final green light for the EU to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) after the European Parliament approved it last April, said the EU Energy Council following its meeting in Brussels today. "The Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) is a multilateral agreement that entered into force in 1998 and contains provisions on investment protection and trade in the energy sector. As this treaty is no longer in line with the Paris agreement and the EU ambitions regarding the energy transition, a process of modernisation has been initiated in 2018," it noted. But today's agreement leaves open the possibility for individual EU member states to remain in their own capacity. Member states who wish to remain contracting parties after the EU's withdrawal will be able to vote during the upcoming Energy Charter Confer ence - expected to take place by end-2024 - by approving or not opposing the adoption of a modernised agreement, noted the statement. The decisions on the withdrawal of, as well as the decisions on the modernisation of the Energy Charter Treaty, enter into force today. The withdrawal will take effect one year after the receipt of the notification by the depositary of the treaty. The ECT headquarters is based in Brussels and has 51 contracting parties. Source: Kuwait News Agency