Brussels, 17/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - During his first visit to Kiev on Friday 14 November, new European Commissioner for Energy Union Maros Sefcovic tried to reassure the Ukrainian authorities about the EU's mediation in the current and future dealings between Ukraine and Russia on settling their gas dispute and on the supply of Russian gas to Ukraine.
“I want to reassure you that, neither for the EU, nor for me, does the Energy Union stop at the EU's border”, Sefcovic told Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko at the start of their meeting on Friday. The modernisation of the Ukrainian gas transport system and the follow up of the trilateral gas negotiations with Russia, which resulted in the successful conclusion of an agreement on 31 October for the supplies of Russian gas to Ukraine for winter 2014-2015 (see EUROPE 11189), were the focus of Sefcovic's visit to Kiev. He also met Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Energy Minister Yuriy Prodan and company representatives from the energy sector in Ukraine - including Naftogaz.
In an interview on Ukrainian television, Sefcovic said he believed it necessary “not to wait until the agreement expires to find a solution for the after-March scenario”. “We of course will work in close cooperation with Ukraine and Russia to overcome some problems that might appear after March”, he said, believing that implementation of the agreement reached in October could re-establish trust between the two countries.
In addition, Sefcovic stated that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) could allocate funds for modernising the Ukrainian gas transport system before the end of 2014. “The EBRD is ready to provide financial aid in the form of a loan at very favourable conditions. It can be granted from this year”, he said, without giving precise figures. (EH)