New chapter in the litigation against Spain over cuts to renewables during the Mariano Rajoy era. The United Kingdom Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeal of the Kingdom of Spain in the so-called Antin case, in a decision that, according to the promoters of the complaint, “confirms the original decision issued in 2023 that forced Spain to pay compensation of 101 million euros to the plaintiffs” for an award issued in 2019 by the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
That award ordered Spain to compensate the plaintiff companies, both linked to the renewable energy sector, for the damages caused as a result of the retroactive changes suffered by the regime of bonuses and incentives granted to renewable energy. This case is one of more than 25 settled in international arbitration courts and that have resulted in the recognition of compensation worth 1,560 million, a figure to which must be added nearly 325 million in judicial or financial extra costs.
Antin, a fund that was linked to BNP, sued Spain before the ICSID on November 22, 2013, in one of the first arbitrations that were presented. In June 2018, the ICSID arbitrators sentenced Spain to pay compensation of 112 million (compared to the 218 million it claimed), reduced to 101 million in January 2019. The case reached the British justice system, which in 2023 rejected paralyze the process of seizure of assets requested by the plaintiffs for an award on which the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation in 2021 into whether the payment of that compensation could be illegal state aid.
In its appeal before the British court, Spain argued that the arbitration award should be annulled for reasons of sovereign immunity, relying on decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) that maintain that arbitration between EU member states under the ECT is incompatible with Union law. However, the United Kingdom Court of Appeal rejects this argument, citing previous decisions, and reaffirms that awards issued under the ICSID system are binding and must be recognized and enforced by the countries linked to said arbitration treaty.
The plaintiffs believe that this ruling “reinforces the United Kingdom’s commitment to complying with international obligations arising from the ICSID Convention, which establishes a legal framework for the resolution of disputes between foreign investors and states.”
“The ruling confirms the responsibility of Spain in assuming the payment of compensation and confirms the execution of the sentence through the seizure of assets, which can be carried out except in the case of assets subject to special protection by sovereign immunity” , they assure.
The list of the different companies affected by the retroactive withdrawal of renewable premiums includes giants in the sector such as NextEra, EDF or E.ON. In 2023 and 2024, the affected companies have demanded the seizure of different assets of the Kingdom of Spain, as a protection measure against non-payment of awards.
The courts of the United States, Australia, Belgium and the United Kingdom have ruled in favor of the investors and, in the case of the Belgian justice system and the British judiciary, they have already authorized the freezing of various financial and real estate assets, in the case of three buildings. located in London (including the headquarters of the Cervantes Institute), four bank accounts, the right to collect compensation for the Prestige catastrophe or the monthly payments from Eurocontrol to Enaire.
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