European Parliament votes in favor in first passage to withdraw from Energy Charter Treaty

Brussels – A large majority favor the agreed withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty: the proposal was approved today (April 9) in the European Parliament’s Industry, Research and Energy Committee by 58 votes, with only eight against and two abstentions. The April 22-25 Plenary in Strasbourg will have to confirm the withdrawal.

After the green light from the EU Council of Ministers, the European Parliament also gave its first approval to the exit from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). For Anna Cavazzini, the motion’s rapporteur and Green/ALE MEP, the exit is necessary to achieve one goal: “In view of the climate crisis, the EU must become a climate-neutral continent as quickly as possible,” she said, adding that without the Energy Charter Treaty, multinational oil companies will not be able to sue the EU if climate policies negatively affect their profits.

Signed in 1994 after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Energy Charter Treaty was designed to ensure that signatory countries, particularly those in Eastern Europe, would cooperate in the energy sector. It also guaranteed respect for state investments made in the other signatory countries.