France joins other European countries in pulling out of treaty protecting energy investments

BRUSSELS - France will join other European countries such as Spain and the Netherlands in pulling out of the Energy Charter Treaty which protected investments in the energy sector, said President Emmanuel Macron on Friday.

"We have decided to pull out of the Energy Charter Treaty," said Macron at the end of a European Union summit in Brussels.

The treaty, which has more than 50 signatories including the European Union, was designed to secure energy supplies and grants protection to companies investing in the energy industry.

However, in recent years it has been used by fossil fuel and renewable energy companies to sue governments for regulatory changes that threaten returns on specific investments.