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Speech by Commissioner Simson at the press point with Energy Minister German Galushchenko during official visit to Ukraine

Speech given recently (01 November 2022) by Commissioner Simson at the press point with Energy Minister German Galushchenko during official visit to Ukraine.

"Check against delivery"

Thank you, German, and good afternoon, everyone.

My visit to Kyiv is sadly very timely. We had the EU-Ukraine high-level energy dialogue today in a situation where Russia has been specifically targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure – clearly a tactic to increase human suffering as the winter is approaching. I had the opportunity to discuss the situation also with President Zelenskyy earlier today.

Russia's behaviour is cruel and inhumane, but not surprising. We have seen Russia disregarding international law and moral norms not only since the beginning of this war, but already before.

The EU stands with Ukraine. We have put in place unprecedented sanctions, including in the energy sector. The European Union, Member States and European financial institutions have provided Ukraine with more than 19 billion euros in assistance, excluding military help. As President von der Leyen said last week, we are working to ensure that the EU can provide up to 1.5 billion every month as we move forward.

But specific help for the energy sector is also necessary and extremely urgent. The Commission, together with the Member States and the Energy Community has been providing support for the Ukrainian energy system since this spring.

The EU Civil Protection Mechanism has facilitated numerous shipments of vital energy equipment, from generators to transformers and cables. Businesses from 20 countries have donated via the Energy Community energy equipment worth millions of euros.

At my request, the Energy Community has also set up a fund specifically for the support of the Ukrainian energy system. We now have 25.5 million euros ready to cover the immediate needs. The first supplies are being bought as we speak.

But as the Russian attacks on the energy system have escalated, we need also to step up our support. I have witnessed the scale of destruction in Ukraine first hand and am making all efforts to increase financial, technical and practical help. This has to come from the EU institutions, the Member States, our international partners and also private donors.

At the latest EU Energy Council, I asked all ministers to scale up their contributions. [As the minister already said] Today's first meeting of the Advisory Board served the same purpose – to raise awareness of the needs, encourage contributions and coordinate the action. Together with minister Galushchenko and the Energy Community we are also launching a campaign to engage the private sector. Often, the main challenge is not funding, but locating the right equipment and making sure it can be delivered swiftly.

We are working based on the information provided by Ukraine about what exactly is required. I am reaching out to companies beyond Europe who produce equipment Ukraine needs, to ask for priority treatment. I am also happy to see that the Member States responded with immediate offers of help since the intensified attacks and the first shipments have already been sent out.

Let me briefly address another topic we discussed with the minister this morning – nuclear safety and security. Russian military's reckless behaviour in and around Zaporizhzhia and Chernobyl is extraordinarily irresponsible even by Russian standards. It speaks of complete disregard for international law, human life and the environment.

This is another area where the EU has been helping financially. More than 40 million euros worth Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear threat countermeasures and equipment have been delivered from the EU reserves.

We have allocated 13 million euros for the restoration of laboratories damaged by the Russian occupiers at Chornobyl and intend to channel through the International Atomic Energy Agency a further 3.5 million euros as support for Ukraine in this sector.  

Our number one task at the moment is to prepare for this winter. But we discussed with the minister not only the present, but also the future. I am truly impressed by Ukraine's determination to keep longer-term goals in sight, while facing extraordinary hardship.

Ukraine is an EU candidate country and since the synchronisation of our power grids in March, we already operate as part of the same energy system. Together, we will rebuild and repower the Ukrainian energy system with more renewables and greater energy efficiency once Ukraine prevails.

Thank you.

Slava Ukraini.

Click here for the full press release

 

Original article link: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/SPEECH_22_6502

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