Considerations on COM(2024)104 - EU position in the Energy Charter Conference

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dossier COM(2024)104 - EU position in the Energy Charter Conference.
document COM(2024)104
date May 30, 2024
 
(1) The Energy Charter Treaty (‘the Agreement’) was concluded by the Union by Council and Commission Decision 98/181/EC, ECSC, Euratom of 23 September 1997 on the conclusion, by the European Communities, of the Energy Charter Treaty and the Energy Charter Protocol on energy efficiency and related environmental aspects (OJ L 69, 9.3.1998, pp. 1-116) and entered into force on 16 April 1998.

(2) In the absence of any substantial update of the Agreement since the 1990s, the Agreement became increasingly outdated.

(3) Pursuant to Article 34 of the Agreement, the Energy Charter Conference adopts texts of amendments to the Agreement and approves modifications of, and technical changes to, the Annexes to the Agreement.

(4) The Energy Charter Conference is to adopt the proposed amendments to the Energy Charter Treaty and to approve (i) the proposed modifications and changes to the Annexes to the Energy Charter Treaty, (ii) the proposed changes to Understandings, Declarations and Decisions, and (iii) the decision regarding the entry into force and provisional application of amendments to the Energy Charter Treaty and changes/modifications to its Annexes. It is expected that the Conference will retable the proposed amendments for adoption in the course of 2024, either in a meeting or by a written procedure, as the case may be.

(5) It is appropriate to establish the position to be taken by the Member States who are Contracting Parties to the Energy Charter Treaty. This is without prejudice to the division of competences between the Union and the Member States.

(6) In parallel, the European Commission has tabled proposals for Council Decisions on the withdrawal of the EU and of Euratom from the Agreement that are to be adopted jointly with this proposal.

(7) As the areas covered by the Energy Charter Treaty fall largely under the exclusive Union competence, the Member States cannot remain Contracting Parties to the Energy Charter Treaty once the Union has withdrawn unless they are authorised to do so by the Union. Hence, once the withdrawal of the Union from the Energy Charter Treaty takes effect and absent an authorisation by the Union to remain Contracting Parties, the Member States will have to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty within a reasonable period of time.