The round table "European Energy Acquis Implementation in Ukrainian Legislation" was held in Kyiv
In order to effectively implement European energy reforms, clear mechanisms of cooperation among stakeholders and monitoring of implementation in needed. These issues were discussed at the roundtable “European Energy Acquis Implementation in Ukrainian Legislation”. The event was organized by the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry and the civil society Energy Reforms coalition, supported by the European Union and the European Program Initiative of the International Renaissance Foundation.
The roundtable was held immediately after the Energy Community Ministerial Council, which hosted the Ukrainian presidency. Participants were informed of the decisions taken and heard from civil society about research on Ukraine’s progress in the last six months.
“Despite the difficult circumstances, the Ukrainian Government must continue to implement reforms in the energy sector. These reforms are essential above all for ensuring security of energy supply, essential for economic development and social stability. The Memorandum of Understanding signed between Ukraine and the Energy Community Secretariat in February 2014 provides for a framework for the establishment of an effective mechanism for implementation of the Energy Community Treaty. The key element is the establishment of working groups for drafting energy law which would include representatives of all relevant stakeholders, including civil society and business associations. It is disappointing that the Memorandum has not yet borne fruit”, emphasized the Director of the Energy Community Secretariat Janez Kopac.
According to him, the Secretariat recently submitted Third Package-compliant electricity and gas laws to the Energy Ministry. Mr. Kopac called the relevant authorities to initiate discussions with all stakeholders with respect to these drafts without delay.
The Deputy Director of the Energy Community Secretariat Dirk Buschle focused on key challenges for Ukraine. In particular, he indicated the need for actual liberalization of gas and electricity markets, full unbundling of vertically integrated enterprises, as well as strengthening the role of the regulator, as its independence was affected due to the recent reorganization.
The President of the DiXi Group think tank Olena Pavlenko, who represented the Energy Reforms coalition, said: “We started the presidency as a country which doubted in the Energy Community membership, which was not going to implement far-reaching reforms and mostly relied on cheap gas. Today we complete the presidency as a country where the people defended the European and democratic choice and now defend it from external invaders. It is not the question, whether we implement European reforms, also in the energy sector, or not. It is what we expect from the government.”
Contacts:
DiXi Group
Anastasiya Yermakova
+380 67 614 09 83
author@dixigroup.org
