In 2016, the Italian Parliament voted to end offshore oil and gas exploration and production, less than 12 nautical miles from its shores. The British oil company Rockhopper had previously obtained authorization to exploit an underwater deposit in this perimeter. On behalf of the TCE, Rockhopper sued Italy. And at the end of August, he was granted the right to ask Italy for 190 million euros.
An amount like this is enough to cool the Italian government but also the other governments, to curb some of their energy shift initiatives.
These disputes, related to the treaty, are arbitrated by private tribunals. These procedures, outside the national judicial systems, are not very transparent, which is potentially problematic in the examination of files with so many financial stakes.
According to figures from the TCE secretariat, out of 150 disputes examined, a third concern investments in fossil fuels. Over the past eight years, two out of three cases have been prosecutions by EU states.
