1991 Charter

The 1991 Energy Charter, also known as the European Energy Charter, provides the political foundation for the Charter process. The Charter is a concise expression of the principles that should underpin international energy cooperation, based on a shared interest in secure energy supply and sustainable economic development.

With Indonesia becoming the latest signatory in May 2009, this political declaration has now been signed by fifty-eight countries (including the United States and Canada), as well as the European Communities. All Charter signatories are observers to the Charter process, and signing is a first and necessary step towards accession to the 1994 Energy Charter Treaty.

The full text of the Energy Charter (whose formal title is the Concluding Document of The Hague Conference on the European Energy Charter) is included in the publication on the Energy Charter Treaty and Related Documents.