The Dismantling of the Energy Charter Treaty

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This article provides an overview of how the organs of the EU, in particular the European Commission (EC) and the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) together with the EU Member States, have effectively dismantled the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) in a time span of only a few years. The analysis tracks the efforts of the EC as amicus curiae intervenor in multiple international arbitral proceedings and the CJEU’s jurisprudence, which expanded its Achmea judgment and applied it to the ECT. In addition, the recently announced withdrawal of the EU Member States from the ECT instead of signing the revised ECT text, has plunged the very existence of the ECT into serious doubt. The author concludes that the dismantling of the ECT, and thus removal of any investment protection, will be counterproductive for attracting the massive amount of investments needed for the renewable energy sector.