Dr. Kyla Tienhaara:

As the Deputy notes, there are several countries, including France, Spain and Poland, that are leading the pack and other countries that are interested in exiting the ECT. They are pushing for a co-ordinated exit for the European Union. I would advocate that Ireland join in that push. The one complicating factor with treaties such as the ECT is that they have a sunset or survival clause. Basically, this means that if a country unilaterally exits the treaty, it will still apply to that country for 20 years. That is a problem Italy is having to deal with; it exited the treaty and it is still having to deal with these cases. The way to get around that is for a co-ordinated exit that involves a neutralisation of the sunset clause. As many countries as possible should get involved. The European Union is the largest part of the ECT so a European Union exit where they all agree to nullify the sunset clause would eliminate a substantial percentage of possible ISDS cases under the treaty. That seems to be the clearest path forward. Modernisation talks are taking place this week but so far they have not produced anything. They are taking a long time. Going back to the original point, there is no real need to keep the treaty because it is not providing any benefit. I would definitely advocate for the exit option.