The European Union’s exit from the controversial Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) now appears to be a matter of when, not if.
In a leaked document, the European Commission informed member countries last month that a coordinated withdrawal from the treaty is “unavoidable”. France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, and Spain have already announced their intentions to withdraw unilaterally.
The ECT, signed in 1994 and ratified by 50 predominantly European countries, is increasingly being used by fossil fuel companies to sue governments for introducing climate policies.
