Brussels (The Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The European Union allocates an extra EUR 160 million to Ukraine for energy security ahead of winter.
The European Union will issue EUR 160 million to Ukraine to support energy security ahead of winter, of which EUR 60 million in humanitarian assistance will be allocated for shelters and heaters, and EUR 100 million from frozen Russian assets will be mandated to repair work and renewable energy sources. The related announcement was made by President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels at a joint press meeting with Executive Director of the International Energy Agency Fatih Birol.
How will the EU address Ukraine’s destroyed energy infrastructure?
She said “Overall, we estimate that our support to Ukraine’s energy sector since February 2022 amounts to at least EUR 2 billion. And today, I can announce that we will make an additional amount of close to EIR 160 million available for this winter. This includes EUR 60 million in humanitarian aid for shelters and heaters, for example. And it includes around EUR 100 million for repair works and renewables.”
She highlighted that since the beginning, Russians have been targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure to attempt and plunge the country into the darkness. Half of all the country’s energy infrastructure has been eliminated. This is approximately equal to the capacity of the three Baltic states together, von der Leyen said.
How is the EU supporting Ukraine’s energy resilience and independence?
European Commission President said that Ukraine’s friends and partners, EU must do all it can to keep the lights on. And as winter is coming, the EU must keep the brave people of Ukraine warm, while also supporting the economy. The objective is to manage the immediate needs of the population while the EU makes Ukraine’s energy system more resilient in the long term. “Now, overall, Ukraine needs 17 gigawatts of power capacity for this winter. Today, I want to propose action in three areas. It’s repair, it’s connected, and it is stabilized,” the European Commission President said.
Moreover, she stated that some 80 per cent of Ukraine’s thermal plants have been destroyed, and a third of the hydropower power. So this is where EU will concentrate repair efforts, to restore 2.5 gigawatts of capacity this winter. “That is about 15 per cent of Ukraine’s needs. And we will continue coordinating all possible support from our member states through the civil protection mechanism,” von der Leyen said.
She also expressed confidence that the majority of electricity should be produced in Ukraine. “And my third point is on our work to stabilise the flow of energy in the country. We are boosting decentralised production of energy. This includes rolling out more renewables in the country. As you know, solar plants on rooftops are harder to hit and easier to repair than large central infrastructure. And while it helps secure a steadier flow of energy in the country, it also pushes forward Ukraine’s energy independence and the clean transition,” the European Commission President said.
