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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Arthur Neslen

EU, Germany and Denmark sued by oil firm over windfall tax

Pedestrians walk past EU headquarters in Brussels
Leaked documents show Klesch claimed the EU had used the Ukraine war and high electricity prices ‘as a pretext to constrain the competitiveness of fossil fuel companies’. Photograph: Virginia Mayo/AP

A Jersey-based oil-refining company is suing the EU, Germany and Denmark for at least €95m over a windfall tax introduced during the Ukraine war that it sees as a “pretext” for undermining fossil fuel firms, leaked documents show.

Klesch Group Holdings Limited is taking action under a controversial secret court system enabled by the energy charter treaty (ECT), an agreement officials fear will stymie climate action and divert hundreds of billions of euros into the coffers of fossil fuel investors.

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