The Energy Charter Treaty and the intra-EU treaty objection post Charanne and REEF cases: the latest developments in Blusun v. Italy

Until 2010, the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) was relied on in less than thirty investment arbitration cases. Fast-forward seven years and there are more than one hundred cases. Most of these cases arise out of the repeal of the incentives granted to photovoltaic solar electricity investments under the EU regulations and majority of such disputes necessarily involve an investor of an European Union (EU) Member State, as Claimant, and an EU Member State, as Respondent. As a rule, the European Commission requested participation as amicus curiae in these cases and argued that the ECT is not meant to be applied between the EU Member States, as Contracting Parties to the ECT. Such claim is necessarily based on the fact that the ECT was signed by both the EU (the European Communities at that time) and the EU Member States because of the shared competences under the EU Law in matters addressed by the ECT. Blusun S.A., Jean-Pierre Lecorcier and Michael Stein v. Italy is yet another case in which the Tribunal rejects this argument and concludes that the ECT was entered into by the EU Member States in their own capacity and no ‘disconnection clause’ was included in the ECT to prevent the intra-EU application of the ECT.