OREANDA-NEWS. December 22, 2008. The European Commission is ready to render Ukraine the following year a budget support for the development of energy effectiveness domain to the tune of Euro 70 million.

This was announced during a meeting with NAER Head Ihor Cherkashyn by the head of the third section of assistance programs (energy saving and renewable sources) of the Delegation of European Commission to Ukraine Hans Rhine. He stressed the funds would be directed on condition of implementation by the Government of Ukraine of encounter obligations, for instance decreasing of showing of energy intensity of GDP for the fixed period.

It is planned that financing will be implemented according to the showings determined by a joint workgroup of representatives of the European Commission,  NAER, Economics Ministry, National Commission on Regulation of Electric Energy Industry, Finance Ministry.

The mentioned event was initiated by the European party with an aim to finalize elaboration of an agreement on budget support by the end of current year.

Moreover, the parties exchanged with information in terms of the state of matters in energy effectiveness area. So, Hans Rhine imparted last week a sitting of the Council of Europe concerned the Eastern partnership issue, including with 6 republics of post-Soviet area – and in this direction a peculiar attention was paid to energy effectiveness.

“In fact the European states have not a single concept of development of the sphere of energy effectiveness. There are successful examples of France, Germany, England. But the states-representatives claim unambiguously it is vital to strengthen the role of institutions responsible for introduction of this direction within the country,” Hans Rhine explained. He also added that despite certain slowing of Ukraine in the part of showings of energy effectiveness and energy saving the presence of such an agent as NAER gives chance to believe in improvement of the situation in the future.

The NAER head, in his turn, assured representatives of the European Commission in an interest to deepen cooperation.

Within the frames of agreements issues of holding a joint seminar into development and introduction of energy standards, regulation of expenses of fuel and energy resources as well as creating a system of monitoring of energy consuming are to be tackled within nearest time.