EU countries vote to withdraw from controversial energy deal Pressure on Israel in Gaza war increases – the nightly update without photos

According to the wishes of the member states, the European Union must withdraw from a controversial international energy treaty. EU countries agreed in Brussels on Thursday to withdraw from the so-called Energy Charter Treaty, several EU diplomats told the German news agency.

The European Parliament must still approve the decision. But that should be a formality. The federal government had already decided that Germany would withdraw from the treaty at the end of 2022. Other EU countries such as France, the Netherlands and Spain had also announced their withdrawal; Italy had already left in 2016.

The withdrawal period is twenty years. “The EU is now leaving, we have already left, and so have many other member states. “It simply no longer fits these times,” State Secretary for Economy Sven Giegold (Greens) said in Brussels on Thursday.

The agreement, which came into effect in 1998, was designed to protect investments in gas, oil and coal projects and has long been criticized by environmental groups. For example, it offers investors the opportunity to file lawsuits against states in arbitration courts. The intention behind this is to offer companies certainty when investing.

The decision was based on a proposal from the European Commission. The Brussels authorities had already proposed to leave last year. However, the countries initially disagreed. “There was hope that by redesigning the Energy Charter Treaty accordingly, one could ensure that bad rules would not remain in place for too long. “That’s why there were different attitudes,” Giegold said. A Commission proposal to modernize the treaty will be discussed in early summer. (sda/awp/dpa/lyn)