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The 1994 International Treaty protects investors in the energy sector from States policy changes. This firmly blocks the EUs available spending towards its long term goal of becoming the first climate-neutral continent by 2050.

Europes Ambition?

In December 2019, the European Commission presented its goal to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050 an ambitious goal presented with a roadmap to make the EUs economy sustainable, the European Green Deal.

In other words, this represents the worlds second-largest economy no longer adding to the earths stock of greenhouse gases within 30 years. In the 24-page report, the EU described the steps to this urgent new challenge. Among other points, the EU has presented the need to change current policies in order for the economy to modernise and transform. Because, if between 1990 and 2018, the EU was able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 23%, and have economic growth by 61%, current policies will only reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2050. Therefore, to ensure that all policies contribute to this goal, a proposal for the first European Climate Law was submitted to the other EU institutions by the Commission to write into law this new goal. However, many challenges remain for the EU, among others the little-known Energy Charter Treaty.

What is the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT)?

Signed over two decades ago, the treaty currently has fifty-three Signatories and Contracting Parties, including the European Union and Euratom. It was signed in 1994 and entered into force in 1998. The Energy Charter Treaty is a multilateral legal framework for international cooperation in the domain of energy. More importantly, the Treaty was created at the end of the Cold War to facilitate East-West cooperation over energy. On one side, the West would give access to its markets, capital and technology, while the East, to its natural resources. There was a need to reverse the decline of the then Soviet economy by attracting foreign capital, by reducing political risk and strengthening security through close co-operation in a critical economic sector. With the fall of the USSR, new objectives appeared. The first one was the need to set new standards for the energy market economy. The second was to create a basis for the rule of law to facilitate, in particular, activities of smaller companies which could not negotiate individual agreements with governments. Finally, the third objective argued for a new foundation for contractual and trade relations to replace the broken-down system. This binding international treaty was, therefore, both a necessity and an economic success as it contributed to the development of energy trade in Europe at the end of the Cold War.

The EUs environmental ambition blocked by the 1994 Energy Charter Treaty.

In a statement issued by the Commission, the Institution stated that the little-known Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) is threatening the climate ambition of the EU domestically and internationally. The EU argues that the Treatys original mission of reuniting both sides of Europe became obsolete after Russias withdrawal in 2009. Therefore, while still protecting investors, it undermines the Institutions mission. Another issue comes from the lack of information about the Treaty. EU citizens have supported the EUs move towards a greener region, but are unknowingly funding the life insurance that the ECT provides to fossil fuels investors.

The EU illustrates the need to modernise the Treaty and the urgency of the situation with telling statistics. In November 2020, the EU agreed that 30% of its 1.8 trillion budget land recovery plan for 2021-2027 would be made available for the green transition.

However, the Commission estimates that if fossil fuels are not phased-out from the ECT binding investment protection, traded fossil fuel-assets protected by the ECT would potentially reach at least 2.15 trillion by 2050. However, it is also estimated that the potential cost of Investor-State-Dispute-Settlement (ISDS) claims enacted through the ECT could reach at least 1.3 trillion by 2050 out of which 42% will be paid by EU taxpayers.

There is a need for a new balance between the protection of investments and investors, which represents the primary goal of the ECT today, and the minimisation of fossil fuels leading to greenhouse gas emissions.

What can we expect?

Today, the protection of fossil fuels investments prevents the Member States from implementing the necessary legal framework to encourage an energy transition, a pivotal step to achieve the Paris Agreement and the European Green Deals targets. The cost needed to implement the European Green Deal is impossible to cover if the ECT remains as it is. Therefore, if the ECT was enacted with values that resonated with the EU and its members several decades ago, this has now changed. The modernization process, which would delete those lines in the ECT protecting fossil fuel investors, started in 2018 and is still ongoing without any deadlines to the negotiations.

However, without a successful outcome to reform the ECT, a unilateral withdrawal of the EU and the Member States from an unreformed ECT would trigger the sunset clause, whereby the ECT would continue to apply to existing investments during 20 years. This could result in new investor-to-state disputes under the unreformed rules, including in existing investments in fossil fuels. The alternative of a withdrawal presents an unlikely outcome at this moment.

The three rounds of negotiations, started in July 2020, regarding a reforming of the ECT have been led by the European Commission. The European Parliament has submitted questions regarding the negotiations deadline, which remains to be determined, and the possibility of considering a withdrawal before November 2021. The EU is bound to submit its enhanced determined contribution to the Paris Agreement on that date, toward which the Commission was unfavourable. The European Court of Justice has been asked to opine on the compatibility of Energy Charter Treatys investor-State arbitration provisions with EU law.

It is in the EUs institutions and citizens best interest to work towards reforming the Treaty so that it once again resonates with its values and moves forward towards a Greener region.

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The Energy Charter Treaty: a Threat to the European Unions Climate Ambition - Global Risk Insights

The European Commission presented its Winter 2021 Economic forecast. The resurgence of the pandemic delayed the recovery process. The GDP growth projections show that the EU economy will grow by 3.7 per cent in 2021 and 3.9 per cent in 2022. The European Commission forecast projects a higher growth for Slovenia in 2021 than the EU average, i.e. a 4.7per cent GDP growth, and a 5.2-per cent growth in 2022, which is an improvement compared to the autumn forecast that anticipated a 3.8-per cent growth in 2022.

In order to kick-start the recovery, the Member States are focusing on preparing national recovery and resilience plans based on the guidelines by the European Commission. The Slovenian National Recovery and Resilience Plan is also being prepared. The primary objective of the Recovery and Resilience Facility is to assist the Member States with their recovery, which is why it is imperative to focus on a prompt approval of national plans and an expedient and efficient allocation of funds. Administrative and bureaucratic burdens that could slow down the kick-start of the recovery should be reduced as well.

The ministers also confirmed the recommendation on the discharge to the European Commission for the implementation of the 2019 budget and budget guidelines for 2022, which will be adopted by written procedure. They also exchanged views on the EUs Global Recovery Initiative, which deals with financing the recovery in developing countries and low-income countries.

On Monday, 15 February, Minister ircelj attended the video conference of the Eurogroup. The ministers exchanged views on macroeconomic developments and policy prospects in the euro area based on the European Commission's Winter 2021 Forecast.

"Uncertainties remain high. Hence, its important that the fiscal policy remains supportive. The impact of the COVID-19 crisis will differ, and some sectors will be affected more than others. The recovery will be long, but policies focused on support, structural changes, and promoting investments can contribute to it the forthcoming years. In addition to this, we must also take into consideration the green and digital transition," said Minister ircelj.

The ministers also discussed the international role of the euro. In its January communication, "The European economic and financial system: fostering openness, strength and resilience", the European Commission highlights the importance of enhancing the international role of the euro as an element of the EUs open strategic autonomy and resilience. Measures, such as promoting the use of the euro, developing eurodenominated instruments and benchmarks, and fostering its status as an international reference currency, will enhance the European financial system and simultaneously support the European economy.

The ministers further discussed the solvency of the corporate sector. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a strong impact on the corporate sector, leading governments to help companies tackling the pandemic with guarantee schemes and deferred payments of loans. The ministers agreed that the situation in the corporate sector must be carefully monitored and that the support should not be withdrawn too soon. They also discussed how to transition from emergency measures to supportive and more targeted measures.

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Finance ministers discuss the economic recovery in the European Union | GOV.SI - Gov.si

The delegation comprised of envoys from Europe, Africa, South America and Asia

A delegation of 24 ambassadors to India, including those from France, European Union and Malaysia, arrived in Srinagar on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir for making an assessment of the situation post the scrapping of the erstwhile state's special status in 2019.

The delegation, which comprised envoys from Europe, Africa, South America and Asia, were taken to a government college in Budgam in central Kashmir where they were received by the administration and briefed about the strengthening of local bodies, including panchayat, officials said.

The envoys from the EU, France, Malaysia, Brazil, Italy, Finland, Bangladesh, Cuba, Chile, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Sweden, Senegal, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Ireland, Ghana, Estonia, Bolivia, Malawi, Eritrea and Ivory Coast arrived amid heightened security arrangements in the city and elsewhere in the Valley, the officials said.

After a customary address, the envoys were seen moving freely with the panch and sarpanch, and understanding their issues and it was a free flow of ideas from both sides, officials said.

During their stay in the Valley, the delegation members are scheduled to meet the district development council members and civil society representatives, the officials said, adding they are scheduled to visit the revered Hazratbal shrine on the banks of Dal Lake as well.

The delegation is scheduled to visit Jammu tomorrow, where they are likely to meet the officials of the Union territory.

Parts of Srinagar observed a shutdown to mark the arrival of the envoys' delegation to Jammu and Kashmir. Shops in Lal Chowk and surrounding areas of the city remained shut as authorities deployed extra security personnel to ensure that the visit of the envoys passes off without any incident.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Foreign Envoys, Including From European Union, Visit J&K To Assess Situation - NDTV

Introduction

Migration policy has been at the centre of the political debate within and outside the European Union in recent years. It has been used as a rallying call for nationalists and rightwing movements, parties and governments, has threatened the integrity of the EU and put the solidarity among member states to the test. In the meantime, migrants are caught in the cross fire. During the peak of migration flows to the EU in 2015 the massive shortcomings and deep loopholes of the migration management system were exposed in the most tragic way. These deficiencies remain and have in many ways deepened since. The inhumane conditions of migrants in camps within and at the doorstep of the Union and the continued deadly traffic on the Mediterranean are evident examples of this. More recently, the Covid-19 pandemic rendered migrants conditions even more critical, especially for those in detention.

If migrants manage to enter the EU, they face huge challenges, of inclusion, acceptance, and access to rights. In terms of education, employment and access to essential services they are well behind EU citizens. This situation of structural inequality affects migrants first and foremost, but it also hampers the wellfunctioning of our economies and societies contributing to increased tensions, misuse of human capital, missed development opportunities, and fiscal gains.

The migration policy and the inclusion policy of the EU are two sides of the same coin, they need to complement and support each other to effectively fulfil their function. In this paper the frameworks of the two policy areas will be briefly introduced. Subsequently, the most recent developments at the EU level will be presented: the New Pact on Migration and Asylum and the Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion 2021-2027. To conclude, SOLIDARs stance will be laid out.

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Briefing Paper 97: The New Pact on Migration and Asylum & the Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion 2021-2027 - World - ReliefWeb

It was by design that Joe Biden deployed the term "inflection point" three times in his most significant foreign policy speech as president on Friday. He wanted to ensure the historic weight of his words was not missed.

Above all, he wanted his virtual audience at the Munich Security Conference to hear that global democracies faced a defining moment in their accelerating contest with authoritarianism, and that they dare not underestimate the stakes. It is an argument I have made frequently in this space, but one that had not yet been so clearly articulated by a U.S. president.

"We are in the midst of a fundamental debate about the future and direction of our world," Biden said to a receptive audience, though it was also an audience unsettled by the sudden, if welcome, shift from the cold shower of President Trump's America First to the global embrace of his successor.

"We are at an inflection point," Biden said, "between those who argue that, given all the challenges we face, from the fourth industrial revolution to a global pandemic, that autocracy is the best way forward and those who understand that democracy is essential, essential to meeting those challenges."

Biden's image, beamed to Munich from the White House, was symbolically framed on the large screens of the main stage beside German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron. After each of their three 15-minute speeches, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who had just finished chairing a virtual meeting of G-7 leaders, joined them for the Kumbaya moment.

Wolfgang Ischinger, chair of the Munich Security Conference, had every reason for satisfaction as he convened this reunion of the four allies who had done so much to repair Europe after World War II's devastation. Working with partners, those four countries took the lead in creating the rules-based institutions that have been at the center of global governance for the past 75 years.

Yet what lurked beneath this powerful moment was a growing recognition among senior Biden administration officials and their European counterparts of just how hard it will be to slow China's authoritarian momentum, particularly as it emerges as the first major economy to escape Covid-19, to restore growth, to engage in vaccine diplomacy and to offer the enticement of its some 1.4 billion consumers.

Thus, the Biden administration will need to develop a far more creative, far more intensive, and far more collaborative, give-and-take approach to its Asian and European allies than perhaps ever before. Galvanizing international common cause has seldom been this important, but it also perhaps has never been this difficult.

There are several reasons for that.

First, any U.S. policy must factor in China's role as the leading trading partner for most of America's key partners, including dethroning the United States in 2020 for the first time ever as the European Union's leading trade partner.

That will make most European countries, and in particular Germany, unwilling to consider any thoughts of decoupling from the Chinese economy or entering a new Cold War. The United States must be careful to consider the political and economic needs of its partnersand recognize they are unlikely to adopt a common, coordinated position on China without a cold-hearted calculation of their own national interests.

President Biden usefully factored that into his speech. "We cannot and must not return to the reflexive opposition and rigid blocs of the Cold War," he said. "Competition must not lock our cooperation on issues that affect us all. For example, we must cooperate if we're going to defeat Covid-19 everywhere."

Second, European doubts will persist for some time about the reliability of the American partnership, particularly given former President Trump's continued popularity, the political attraction of his "America First" policies, and his enduring role in Republican politics following his Senate acquittal.

That may result in many European officials hedging their bets.

A new survey by the European Council on Foreign Relations showed that although 57% of respondents saw Biden's victory as beneficial for the European Union, some 60% believe China will become more powerful than the U.S. over the next decade and 32% feel the U.S. can no longer be trusted.

Third, the Biden administration and its European partners must work to solve or head off strains across unsolved issues so that they don't sour the chance of a fresh start. These range from continued Trump administration tariffs and sanctions to Airbus-Boeing trade disputes to German-U.S. fights over the completion of the North Stream 2 pipeline from Russia to Western Europe.

Work on completing the pipeline from Russia stopped last year, though $10 billion has been invested and the project is 94% complete, due to U.S. secondary sanctions.

In particular, the Biden administration must work proactively with EU leaders to head off looming fights over how best to manage and regulate the influence of America's technology giants, including questions of competition policy, of data management, of privacy and of digital taxation.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told CNBC that President Biden would be an "ally" in fighting disinformation online and stepping up the rules on how tech firms operate. However, growing EU talk about "digital sovereignty" underscores the potential for digital conflict across the Atlantic.

Finally, the Biden administration's reluctance to engage in new trade negotiationsand a lack of a sufficient Democratic or Republican constituency for such dealswill leave the United States competing with Beijing with a hand tied behind its back.

In the meantime, China has been reaching out to Asian partners through the 15-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and a new EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI).

The thing about historic inflection points is they can turn in positive or negative directions with generational consequences. President Biden has usefully alerted us to our defining moment. So, there can be no excuse now if the U.S. and its global partners fail to engage in the hard work required in rising to this epochal challenge.

Frederick Kempe is a best-selling author, prize-winning journalist and president & CEO of the Atlantic Council, one of the United States' most influential think tanks on global affairs. He worked at The Wall Street Journal for more than 25 years as a foreign correspondent, assistant managing editor and as the longest-serving editor of the paper's European edition. His latest book "Berlin 1961: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and the Most Dangerous Place on Earth" was a New York Times best-seller and has been published in more than a dozen languages. Follow him on Twitter@FredKempeand subscribe hereto Inflection Points, his look each Saturday at the past week's top stories and trends.

For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter.

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Op-Ed: Biden sought to rally U.S. allies in Munich, but unity will prove difficult as China's influence grows - CNBC