The Energy Charter Treaty plays an important role as part of an international effort to build a legal foundation for energy security. What have your key successes been over the past 20 years? The Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) was signed in December, 1994, and entered into legal force in April, 1998. Today, it includes 54 members and more than 30 observers. The Treaty applies to all energy forms (oil, gas, electricity, nuclear, coal, and renewables) and to all stages of the supply chain (resources, production, transport, trade, consumption, and energy efficiency). The fundamental aim of the Energy Charter Treaty is to strengthen the rule of law in the energy sector by promoting regulatory stability and market confidence, thereby mitigating energy investment and trade risks. There are several institutions which promote energy co-operation, but the Energy Charter Treaty is the only one established as a legally-binding multilateral instrument. Multilateral rules, such as those within the ECT, provide a balanced and effective framework for international co-operation and for strengthening domestic policies. The Charter provides a policy platform between its signatories and observer states to discuss political and legal aspects of energy reforms. The key success of the International Energy Charter over the last 20 years is the fact that the Energy Charter Treaty has significantly improved and stabilised the functioning of the energy markets of our Member States. The Treaty has been also instrumental in providing necessary investment protection under international law to foreign investors. Since the Energy Charter Treaty entered into force, we have observed a rapid growth of investments within our constituency. The Treaty contains a system for settling [...]
In a few words
We represent the widely understood Central Europe energy sector (electricity generation, distribution and transmission, renewables, gas, oil, heat generation and distribution, chemical industries, etc.), universities and scientific institutions.
