The Compliance and Dispute Settlement System of the European Energy Community

This article assesses the compliance, enforcement and dispute settlement procedure of the Energy Community (EnC). The EnC is an international organization composed of the European Union (EU) and several (South-)East European states, whose main goal is to integrate and harmonize the energy sector of the non-EU member countries with the energy sector of the EU by (among others) offering the prospects of easier access to foreign investments. This however requires implementation by those countries of the mandated rules as set by the EnC, which in practice are similar to the same rules and laws that are required within the EU itself. The implementation of these rules has been proven to be lacking, prompting active compliance enforcement by the Energy Community Secretariat, the permanent body tasked with monitoring compliance. For this, the EnC has a dispute settlement system which is highly diplomatic of nature, and which is most often already effective at enforcing compliance simply by negotiation. However, this dispute settlement system is still seen as lacking a few aspects, such as real sanctions, that would make it more effective at enforcing compliance of the rules of the EnC.