The Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) is an international agreement which establishes a multilateral framework for cross-border cooperation in the energy industry, principally the fossil fuel industry. The treaty covers all aspects of commercial energy activities including trade, transit, investments and energy efficiency. The treaty contains dispute resolution procedures both for States Parties to the Treaty and as between States and the investors of other States, who have made investments in the territory of the former. Full versions of the treaty, both consolidated and official, are readily accessible.
The Secretariat is located in Brussels.
Russia in the European energy sector
Russia supplies a significant volume of fossil fuels to other European countries. In 2021, it was the largest exporter of oil and natural gas to the European Union, (90%) and 40% of gas consumed in the EU came from Russia.
Angela Merkel criticized the United States's sanctions against Russia that target EU–Russia energy projects.
Natural gas presented as an instrument of Russian state power
Sergey Kiriyenko, the head of state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom from 2005 to 2016