During 8-11 September 2020, closed negotiations on modernisation continued between the contracting parties to the Energy Charter Treaty, an international trade agreement on energy supply and transit which has come in for mounting criticism over the past two years.
In June 2018, the incompatibility of the treaty with Europe’s climate and energy goals was highlighted in a report published by civil society organisations Corporate Europe Observatory and the Transnational Institute. Major issues of concern include the effect of ‘regulatory chill’, whereby governments can be dissuaded from enacting progressive climate legislation due to the prospect of costly legal action initiated under the terms of the treaty.
