The Energy Charter Transit Protocol is a draft protocol which negotiations are not finalised yet. The Protocol would amplify and strengthen the treaty provisions on energy transit issues to mitigate some specific operational risks that continue to affect energy transit flows. Negotiations on the text of the Transit Protocol began in early 2000 and a compromise text reflecting an extended discussion between the European Union and Russia was tabled for adoption at the meeting of the Energy Charter Conference on 10 December 2003. It became clear during the meeting that a unanimous decision could not be reached on the basis of the compromise text; a complicating factor was that energy issues, including transit, were a subject on the bilateral agenda for the European Union and Russia in the context of Russian negotiations for accession to the World Trade Organization. The Protocol negotiations were then temporarily suspended.