The Withdrawal by the EU and some Member States from the Energy Charter Treaty: International Protection for Energy Investments and Climate Change Related Carve-outs

by | Jan 29, 2025 | Climate change, ECT Withdrawal, Energy, Energy Charter Treaty, Energy Dispute, european union

The present post focuses on the latest European development on the modernization of the Energy Charter Treaty (“ECT”). It will do so by putting it in a broader geopolitical context and linking it to the fossil fuel-related investments carve-out, not originally...

EU Member States’ Diverging Declarations on the Intra-EU Applicability of the ECT: Can the ECT be Disapplied Intra-EU as a Matter of International Law Without Modernization?

by | Jan 29, 2025 | Eastern Europe, ECT Modernisation, ECT Withdrawal, Energy Charter Treaty, EU Withdrawal Act, european union, Hungary, Intra-EU Investment Arbitration

On 26 June 2024, 26 of the 27 EU Member States, along with the EU, signed a Declaration on the Legal Consequences of the Judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU (“CJEU”) in Komstroy and a Common Understanding on the Non-applicability of Article 26 of the Energy...

Denial of Benefits under the Energy Charter Treaty to Investors Owned or Controlled from Russia and Belarus: A Proposal by the European Commission

by | Jan 29, 2025 | Denial of Benefits, Energy Charter Treaty, EU Law, European Commission, european union, Investment Arbitration

The European Commission’s “Proposal for a Council Decision on the partial suspension of the application of the Energy Charter Treaty between the Union and any legal entity that is owned or controlled by citizens or nationals of the Russian Federation or of the...

AG Szpunar’s Opinion in Case C-741/19: Preparing the End of Intra-EU Investment Arbitration Under the Energy Charter Treaty?

by | Jan 29, 2025 | CJEU, Energy Charter Treaty, European Law, european union, Intra-EU ISDS, Investment Arbitration, Investment Disputes

The investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism provided by Art. 26 (2) (c) of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) is highly relevant to the protection of intra-EU investments.1)In 2018, about 45 per cent of all treaty-based intra-EU investment arbitrations were...