EU to pull out of contentious energy treaty — document

By Camille Gijs, Karl Mathiesen | 02/20/2024 06:27 AM EST

The EU has become uneasy at the protections the Energy Charter Treaty offers fossil fuel projects and its power to discourage action on climate change.

The European Union wants to quit the beleaguered Energy Charter Treaty, but the question remains as to how many of its member countries will join it on the outside.

EU capitals are set to discuss at a technical meeting Tuesday a proposal for the bloc to exit the treaty, which was launched in the 1990s to safeguard international energy investments.
technical meeting

The EU had become uneasy at the protections the pact offers fossil fuel projects and its power to discourage action on climate change. After a failed attempt to strip those protections, several EU governments — including heavyweights Germany and France — and the EU itself resolved to leave the deal. But not all member countries want to follow.

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Last year, the Swedish presidency of the Council proposed a compromise allowing the EU to jointly exit the pact, while countries that wished to remain could join a modernized version.
proposed a compromise

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