European Union countries agreed on Thursday to jointly withdraw from an international energy deal over fears it undermines efforts to combat climate change, officials said, cited by Reuters.

The 1998 Energy Charter Treaty, which allows energy companies to sue governments over policies that harm their investments, has been used in recent years to challenge measures to shut down fossil fuel plants.

EU ministers agreed to abandon the treaty at a meeting in Brussels, two EU officials told Reuters.

The decision will now be forwarded to the European Parliament to seek parliamentarians’ consent. This is considered highly likely as the EU assembly has previously called for a withdrawal from the treaty.

Brussels first proposed a coordinated EU exit from the treaty in July after member states including Denmark, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Poland, Spain and the Netherlands announced plans to leave, most citing climate change concerns.

EU countries have so far delayed a decision on whether to leave, with some such as Cyprus and Hungary wanting to remain and others worried that efforts to modernize the treaty would be futile with their exit.

To allay these fears, the EU last week proposed that countries be allowed to pass reforms before leaving the EU. This proposal seems to have made it possible to reach an understanding.

EU countries will approve a proposal to adopt treaty reforms in May, a source from the Belgian EU presidency, which will organize the negotiations, told Reuters.

Around 50 signatories to the treaty agreed to the reforms last year, but they had little chance of taking effect without the EU’s green light.

One of the key reforms is to reduce to 10 years from 20 the period during which energy companies from non-EU signatories such as Japan and Turkey will benefit from protection for existing investments in the bloc. (News.ro)