The controversial Energy Charter Treaty is once again testing the Commission's legal brains
An EU state aid probe could help Romania avoid paying an arbitration award worth over €42 million to ten European solar energy investors, who sued the government under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT).
To make sure that competition in the bloc isn’t distorted by national subsidies, state aid is permitted in Europe only if the European Commission approves it, after checking its compatibility with the internal market rules.
On Wednesday, the European Commission launched an in-depth investigation after an arbitration tribunal ordered Bucharest to compensate the companies after reducing the level of state support available.
The EU executive has preliminarily deemed a pay-out incompatible with EU state aid rules. It will also check if the arbitration award itself was incompatible with the EU treaties.
