Commission opens in-depth investigation into arbitration award ordering Romania to pay compensation to ten energy investors
Romania established a scheme to support the production of electricity from renewable sources through green certificates, which was approved under State aid rules in July 2011. Romania amended the scheme several times in 2013, 2014 and later. The Commission approved the amendments to the scheme under State aid rules in May 2015 and December 2016.
A group of ten companies that invested in five solar photovoltaic power plants that benefitted from the scheme started arbitration proceedings against Romania following the amendments. The companies claimed compensation for the support they would have received if Romania had not modified the scheme.
They brought the matter before an arbitral tribunal, which found that Romania had infringed the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) and on the 20th of February 2024 ordered Romania to compensate for losses allegedly suffered due to the modifications. Romania notified the award to the Commission and informed that it had made the payment of EUR 42.2 million required by the tribunal decision.
The Commission preliminary view is that the arbitration award and its implementation constitute State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU, which is incompatible with the internal market. Furthermore, the dispute leading to the arbitration award was an intra-EU dispute, therefore, the Commission will investigate whether the award and its implementation could be in breach of Article 19(1) TFEU and Articles 267 and 344 TFEU, as well as the general principle of autonomy of the EU legal order.
The decision will be made available under the case number SA.113263 in the State aid register. Clayton & Segura will keep you updated in this section when the decision is available and the one-month deadline to submit comments starts.
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