Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change) | Oireachtas source

I am no more enlightened than when I stood up three or four minutes ago. Germany, preceded by France, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Luxembourg, have recently announced their intention to withdraw from the treaty, citing the charter's incompatibility with the EU climate goals. Luxembourg's energy minister, Claude Turmes, said in comments poster on Twitter, "This is what the government council has decided today, based on my proposition." He continued, "Even if the modernisation of the Energy Charter Treaty leads to some progress, the treaty is still not compatible with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, as it continues to protect investments in fossil and nuclear energies." I ask the Government to say that it will withdraw from this Energy Charter Treaty. It is protecting the profits of fossil fuel companies that are wrecking our climate. We need 15 countries in the EU to announce they will pull out of it and to pull out of it before the EU can pull out of it. In 2021, the Commission said the EU should pull out of it.

We should be very strong in supporting our fellow European countries, such as Germany, France, the Netherlands and Spain, in pulling out of the charter.

See this speech in context