Article 5 Withdrawal of a member or an observer/termination of membership or observer status
United Kingdom
A member may withdraw from the Organisation at the end of a financial year, following a request to be given to the Council three years prior to the withdrawal. Withdrawal can only take effect at the earliest on 31 December 2026.
Observers may withdraw at any time, following a request to the Council six months prior to the withdrawal.
The conditions and effects of withdrawal from the Organisation by a member, in particular its share in the costs of construction, operation and decommissioning of ESS and compensation for losses, shall be decided by the Council before the withdrawal of a member takes effect. That decision shall specify the member's share in the costs of decommissioning.
The Council shall have the power to terminate the membership of a member or the observer status of an observer if the following conditions are met:
the member or observer is in serious breach of one or more of its obligations under these Statutes;
the member or observer has failed to rectify such breach within a period of six months after it has received notice of the breach in writing.
Before the Council makes a decision of termination of a member or an observer the member or observer shall be given the opportunity to contest such decision and present its defence to the Council.