Greenpeace files lawsuit against US pipeline company Energy Transfer

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -Greenpeace International has filed a lawsuit against U.S. pipeline company Energy Transfer in a Dutch court, the environmental group said on Tuesday, adding it was the first test of a new European law aimed at curbing lawsuits intended to silence rights activists.

Energy Transfer has been pressing lawsuits in the United States against Greenpeace USA, Greenpeace International, and other environmental groups since 2017, seeking $300 million in damages for activists' attempts to block the Dakota Access Pipeline project.

Greenpeace International said in a statement it would seek to recover "all damages and costs it has suffered as a result of ET's back-to-back, meritless lawsuits."

In 2024 the European Union passed rules aimed at helping journalists, rights activists and public watchdogs defend themselves against lawsuits intended to harass or silence them, including by tying them up in expensive litigation.

Amsterdam-based Greenpeace International said it had filed the suit with the District Court of Amsterdam. It was not immediately clear whether EU and Dutch law would be applicable in the case against Energy Transfer.

Energy Transfer could not immediately be reached for comment.

(Reporting by Toby Sterling, Writing by Charlotte Van Campenhout; Editing by Alison Williams and Nia Williams)