Not only the DANA and its management of floods in Valencia, the biggest ecological disaster of the century in Europe. Therese Riberacandidate for the position of commissioner for competition and green transition, accumulates other storms which make it difficult to nominate him in the next government of Ursula Von der Leyen. During their examination in Parliament on November 12, the deputies questioned Ribera as a first subject on the consequences of his decision not to pay the arbitrations that Spain is losing in the ICSID, linked to World Bank. Ribera’s renewable energy defaults are raising concerns in Europe because of the impact they could have on the arrival of investment on the continent.
In this scenario -Ribera is waiting for his candidacy to be approved based on what he will say during his appearance in Congress this Wednesday-, American justice has just ruled again against Spain in the context of the legal disputes arising from the retroactive withdrawal. renewable premiums. In the sentence, the judge Rudolph Contreras decides that ICSID arbitral awards must be completed in the United States, and orders that the plaintiff – the Japanese company JGC Corporation – be granted the right to collect 36 million euros from Spain –54% more of what Spain would have had to pay without Ribera’s strategy of not paying the rewards.
In practice, this decision will allow the Japanese company seize property from Spain to the United States if compensation is not paid, and that means mark the way to other similar lawsuits underway in the US legal system against Spain for non-payment for renewable energy. Now, after this key decision, the United States adds to the list of countries which consider Spain, debtor country where it can be entered: Australia, Belgium and the United Kingdom.
In these three countries, decisions have already been made and Spain’s assets in these countries have been identified to be subject to embargoes – real estate, financial assets, debt securities, bank accounts, etc. -. For the moment, the international funds which obtained these judgments are maintaining them in to wait for while waiting for Ribera to accept his offer to end defaults on renewable energy, which he has not done so far.
The specific conflict with the Japanese JGC began in 2015, when it requested arbitration against Spain for 93.5 million euros. The ICSID ruled in their favor in 2021, but Spain unsuccessfully attempted to overturn the award in proceedings that concluded in February 2024.
The JGC case is just one of many arbitrations that Spain has lost – it has also won in some cases. The amount of claims from international funds which have decided to sue Spain for unilateral reduction of renewable energy premiums amounts to more than 5 billion euros.
The origins of the conflict date back to 2007, when the government of José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero decided to grant bonuses of 25% to investments in renewable energies. When Mariano Rajoy He came to power in 2012 and, with his cash flow empty due to the economic crisis, he decided to unilaterally reduce bonuses to 7%. The funds then initiated arbitrations with the ICSID, which Ribera decided not to pay.
Some funds then decided to sue Spain in the ordinary courts. And this is where Ribera loses and finds itself faced with embargoes in several countries. Today, the United States is one of those countries that authorizes embargoes against Spain.
This is another problem for Ribera in Europe. Her confirmation as vice-president of the Competition Commissioner is suspended until she appears in Congress this Wednesday and explains her management of DANA in Valencia. The PP is ready to veto his nomination while in Europe there are also concerns about his position on nuclear energy and his management of non-payments for renewable energies.
As this newspaper published, this question was the first asked by the European PP during its examination on November 12 in the Strasbourg Parliament. There are fears that international investors refrain from investing in Europe if she is a commissioner. Furthermore, the Commission opened an investigation to determine whether the payment of Spain’s claims from these funds would be considered State aid benefiting Ribera. She signaled on November 12 that she would withdraw from this investigation.
