The Energy Charter Treaty at a Tipping Point – Modernization Efforts, Withdrawal Plans and their Legal Consequences

Abstract

Driven to a large extent by the EU Commission, a modernization process for the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) has been underway since 2017. While an agreement in principle (AIP) was reached in 2022, that agreement’s adoption and with it the modernization process was put on hold after the EU and its member states could not align their positions. Instead, several states – amongst them France, Germany and Poland – moved to withdraw from the treaty, followed by calls from the European Parliament and then also the EU Commission for the EU and all its member states to follow suit. These developments have left the ECT in a limbo state, with the future of the modernization process and the treaty in general now being highly uncertain. Against this background, this article analyzes the legal implications of the ECT modernization efforts and specifically the effects of the AIP, should it still enter into force. It further addresses the consequences that would follow from the realization of the current withdrawal plans, as well as their interactions with the modernization process.