Brussels, 22 April 2024
Let me start by reiterating that the EU stands by Ukraine in every possible way. Over the past two years, Ukraine has endured huge hardship. The latest destruction in the energy sector is shocking and the scale of needs daunting.
But you are not losing hope. And neither are we. We have been there before, after every wave of Russian attacks. The EU will support Ukraine in building energy resilience – in the short and long-term.
In the short-term, we will continue to deliver urgent equipment for repairing and replacing damaged infrastructure. We are doing so through established channels, including the Union Civil Protection Mechanism and the Energy Community.
Let me take this opportunity to encourage more donations to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund managed by the Energy Community Secretariat.
As I said, the scale of needs is daunting, so we need to ramp up financial support. Another way we’re showing up for Ukraine is by planning our long-term future together. Whether that is progressing on Ukraine’s accession to the EU. Or continuing our work to strengthen our strategic energy partnership – including on biomethane and renewable gases.
And this is exactly what today’s event is about. We are all gathered here – representatives of the Commission, Member States, Ukraine and other partner countries, financial institutions, and industry with the same aim. We all see great potential for the biogas and biomethane sector in both Ukraine and the EU and for our cooperation going forward. In Ukraine, biomethane will be important for the economy and the energy sector’s decarbonisation in the long-term.
But it’s also about energy security. What the recent attacks highlight is how important it is to deploy decentralised energy generation facilities. Dispersed energy sources, like renewable electricity from wind and solar, and renewable gases, are more resilient to shelling.
On the EU side, we see biomethane as a readily available solution, which can help us immediately replace imported gas from Russia. Under the RepowerEU Plan, we set a target of 35bcm of biomethane production by 2030 – this is ten times our current volume of production! This will mean supporting new investments in biomethane and retrofitting and upgrading existing biogas production facilities.
Dear friends,
Just over a year ago, the EU and Ukraine signed the Memorandum of Understanding establishing the EU-Ukraine Strategic Partnership on Renewable Gases. This was a clear signal of strong political interest and readiness to work together.
Since then, we’ve taken many steps forward to implement the Memorandum. Both sides are improving the regulatory framework and cutting red tape. This is really key for driving investment. We’re also supporting industry cooperation and technologies.
The Business Forum on Renewable Gases last September was an important moment. We saw how ready EU industry was to nurture existing commercial partnerships and build new ones with renewable energy sector players in Ukraine. Including off-takers of biomethane.
And just last week the Biomethane Industrial Partnership’s dedicated Task Force on Ukraine kicked off. This brings together many different industry and market stakeholders from the EU and Ukraine. And once again, it confirmed how keen EU and Ukrainian industry and market players are to work together to get biomethane flowing across borders.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Right now, our minds are very much on the latest attacks in Ukraine. Russia is clearly determined to destroy as much energy generation infrastructure as possible to make next winter more difficult. I spoke to Minister Galushchenko just last week, reiterating our unwavering support now and in the future.
We will continue for as long as it takes, until Ukraine comes out of this war successful and Russian troops have withdrawn from its territory. We will also continue planning our future together.
Our strategic energy partnership, including our cooperation on renewable gases, builds stronger political ties and economic links.
Fundamentally, it brings us closer to Ukraine becoming an EU Member State and to a European future together.
Thank you for your attention.
Source – EU Commission