The agreement to annex the Energy Charter, signed in 1994 to protect cross-border investments in the energy sector, has been increasingly criticized by environmental organizations and governments. They say the agreement prevents countries from expelling hydrocarbons gradually. Spain has said the EU must insist on major changes or withdraw from the agreement. Madrid warned that member states could soon disrupt the general order and unilaterally withdraw from the agreement.
The agreement provides an opportunity for foreign investors to seek financial compensation from governments if changes in energy policy have a negative impact on their investments.
Impatience is growing in some countries as three rounds of negotiations made no progress last year.
Spain said at the weekend that it had called on EU leaders to consider withdrawing from the deal if it could not be reformulated to meet European plans to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
"The negotiations ... have made little progress since they started in July 2020," a Spanish official said.
"Spain is demanding full compliance with the Paris Agreement (on climate change), promising otherwise it will withdraw from the agreement," the country's Energy and Environment Minister Teresa Ribera said on Twitter.
"We are not very optimistic about the upcoming negotiations and we really do not believe in their success," she said in an interview with Politico.
Presenting a strong ultimatum to Brussels, the Spanish minister said it should be clear by the end of 2021 what efforts will be made to amend the agreement.
Otherwise, she added, "we will be forced to prepare to leave the European Union or, if necessary, we will have to consider the possibility of some member states leaving."
"Of course, we would rather the decision be made within the bloc."
The EU leadership said the European Commission should propose amendments to the energy deal next week, as some countries say the EU should consider withdrawing from the deal as it threatens to achieve climate goals.
Acting under the terms of the deal, RWE last month sought compensation from the Dutch government for its 2030 coal deregulation plan. This plan will negatively affect the operation of the RWE power plant in Esshaven.
Next month, more than 50 parties to the agreement will meet to agree on an updated text.
EU officials say the European Commission needs to state its position in the negotiations by Monday night so that EU countries can take that into account.
France has also called on EU countries to jointly withdraw from the deal if negotiations fail this year.
Luxembourg recently wrote to Brussels demanding that it terminate the protection of the fossil fuel investment agreement. The country's energy minister, Claude Turmes, said that if this was not done, "the pace of our overall progress towards climate neutrality" would be called into question.
Germany has also warned that the deal could run counter to the goals of the EU Green Pact. A spokesman for the German Ministry of Economy and Energy said: "The Energy Charter Agreement can in no way be implemented by violating climate protection measures and switching to new energy sources."
However, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania have said they accept the European Commission's proposal, which calls for the slow and gradual abolition of non-renewable sources such as natural gas.
A Slovak spokesman in Brussels said: "We support the commission's proposal, but we are against tightening the criteria for time frames and thresholds, as this would weaken investments in gas infrastructure."
These countries consider that the withdrawal from the agreement is hasty, because the agreement includes a period of 20 years that allows legal action to be taken even after the withdrawal of the countries from the agreement.
Climate change activists pushing for the EU to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty say significant changes are unlikely as they will have to be unanimously approved by all parties to the agreement, including Japan, Turkey and EU member states , with the exception of Italy, which withdrew from it in 2016.
