[1/2] A view shows wind turbines during sunset in Alagon, near Zaragoza, Spain September 28, 2022. REUTERS/Nacho Doce

MADRID, Oct 13 (Reuters) – Spain has started the process of withdrawing from the Energy Charter Treaty, a European treaty protecting energy investments, an energy ministry spokesperson said on Thursday, confirming a report by Politico.

Spain is now „certain” to withdraw from the treaty, Energy Minister Teresa Ribera told Politico, the spokesperson said, without providing further comment.

Spain would follow Italy which withdrew from the treaty in 2016.

The treaty, in force since 1998, was designed to secure energy supply in the region and grants protection to companies investing in the energy industry.

It was originally conceived to support the energy sector in the former Soviet Union, allowing investors to sue governments over policies that jeopardise their investments.

Over the past few years, the treaty has been used by both fossil fuel and renewable energy companies in other European countries to sue governments for regulation changes that threaten returns on specific investments.

Governments have been working on an updated version that would exclude investment in fossil fuel-based energy.

Reporting by Inti Landauro; Editing by Mark Potter and Jonathan Oatis

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