Energy Charter without Russia

The European Energy Charter is 15 years old. Russia signed a charter treaty 12 years ago, but has not ratified it up to this day. Moreover, after years of negotiations, our leaders have declared that Russia is not going to ratify its current version at all. What’s wrong with this document, which has been signed by more than 50 nations, and ratified by 46?

It seems that the Dutch will find it easier to understand the Russian opinion than other Europeans. The Charter was signed in The Hague 15 years ago. At that time, it was merely a political declaration, which became the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) three years later. This is the document which we are dealing with now. The Netherlands is a major exporter of natural gas, and for this reason it will better understand Russia’s concerns about energy security. Also like Russia, the Netherlands has diversified industries, and maintains modern living standards (better than Russia), which makes it a major energy consumer.
But this is not all. Having started exporting natural gas, the Dutch, who had already had a well-developed processing industry, faced what was later dubbed the Dutch disease. They were the first to encounter this problem – a sharp growth in export revenues strengthened the national currency, which, in turn, increased the costs in the processing industry, made it less competitive, and led to the drain of currency from it.

As the biggest exporter of oil and gas among industrialized countries, Russia is also facing the same predicament. But it has its own specific features, which largely explain what its leaders imply by energy and economic security.

RIA Novosti