Ukraine and the EU continue to discuss the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), which must be implemented for Ukraine’s integration into the EU. This was discussed during a meeting between Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Economy of Ukraine, and Artur Lorkowski, Director of the Energy Community Secretariat.

“During the meeting, we discussed the progress in the development of the National Energy and Climate Plan and the corporate governance reforms in the state-owned energy companies. In developing the NECP, it is important for us to combine the restoration of Ukraine’s energy sector with the future green transition. This is why we discussed with our European colleagues the promising areas for development of the Ukrainian energy sector in the coming years. We also discussed the prospects for decarbonization, the development of the renewable energy market, the possibility of storing European gas in Ukrainian gas storage facilities, as well as increasing gas production in Ukraine and the prospects for its export to the EU in the future,” Yuliia Svyrydenko said.

The parties also discussed the prospects of introducing joint auctions for the sale of access to cross-border electricity transmission between Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland on the basis of the pan-European auction platform JAO. This should not only stimulate investment in power generation in Ukraine, but also ensure the full integration of the domestic energy market into the European Union market by 2025.

For his part, Artur Lorkowski stressed that three key principles should be respected: ensuring the independence of the energy regulator, openness and transparency of the gas and electricity markets, and corporate governance reform of Ukraine’s state-owned energy companies.

The parties agreed to jointly present the progress made on the NECP at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in early December.

Background:

NECPs were initially developed by EU Member States within the framework of the Energy Union. These plans aim to strengthen the governance process between the EU and its Member States, ensure compliance with international climate change commitments, increase transparency of Member States’ policies and regulate their interaction.

As a party to the Energy Community, Ukraine has also committed to developing its own NECP. The plan should cover the period up to 2030 and include a forecast up to 2050.