A roundtable “Ukraine as Key to Europe’s Energy Security”
The Committee on Fuel and Energy Complex, Nuclear Policy and Nuclear Safety and the Committee on Foreign Affairs held a joint event under attendance of MPs, the core ministerial staff, diplomats, representatives of scientific and public establishments, international experts.
In his ‘roundtable’ speech the Parliament’s head Andrii Parubii noted that the Parliament made a lot to reform Ukraine’s energy security by adopting a set of the key laws vital for the reform.
Hanna Hopko, the head of the Committee on Foreign Affairs stressed the need in further reforming the energy sector. “From the Cabinet we now expect implementation of the laws adopted to form a legal ground for a quick ‘de-oligarchization’, de-monopolization of the sector,” underlined H.Hopko.
The deputy head of the Committee on Fuel and Energy Complex, Nuclear Policy and Nuclear Safety asserted that today’s security formulae as reactions to numerous displays of a hybrid warfare changed widely. “We have today to comprehend there is no just energy security or just information security, etc. – since all the systems are at present an entire cluster of these intercommunications,” he said.
The Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary United States Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch underscored that since the times of the Revolution of Dignity Ukraine had made a great progress in diminishing its energy dependence from Russia giving a start to eradication of corruption in that complicated sector. “These efforts have reinforced the energy security of Ukraine. You should now go further. You need to diversify the energy resources, go on with the energy reform to show the world that Ukraine is an independent and trustworthy state to house the transit facilities,” denoted the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary United States Ambassador to Ukraine.
The roundtable participants talked over the operative gears and plans capable of bolstering the energy security of Ukraine and its part in Europe’s energy consistency. Also, there was evaluated the current state of affairs in the regional energy security, analyzed the major energy threats and set the key priorities until 2020 aimed at enhancement of the state energy security at the event.
During the sitting an analytical study “The action plan to reinforce Ukraine’s energy security until 2020” prepared by the Institute for Social and Economic Research was presented. To some extent it constitutes a thorough audit report of the whole energy sector of Ukraine, displaying the main internal and external sectoral risks.
Andriy Parubiy – “This Rada has produced a lot to frame up the energy security of the state”
“The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of this convocation has done a lot to shape the energy security of our state. The vital laws have been adopted. It is important to have a complex vision of the world, not only the local politicians, over the global energy security issues for Ukraine,” stated the Chairperson of the Ukrainian Parliament Andriy Parubiy opening the roundtable on the theme “Ukraine as Key to Europe’s Energy Security”. He also reminded the Russia’s was against Ukraine had started from the energy resources boycott to which we had been forced to give ‘very complicated answers’. That is why ‘the diversification and the energy security is one of the keenest issues to fulfill within the energy policy’.
“It is vital for Ukraine that we have managed to disuse the Russian gas for long. This is, too, a point in corruption counteraction, not only the energy security issue,” stressed A.Parubiy.
Ukraine is meanwhile interested in further reforming of the energy security sphere, being in need to have some guarantees for the energy resources supplies without any reservations to the gas from Russia. In this connection the USA’s standpoint is of extreme importance to Ukraine in view of the possible supplies of liquified petroleum gas.
As to the Nord Stream 2, A.Parubiy marked it to be an utterly negative point in the entire energy security system of both Ukraine and Europe. “We consider this project to be contrary to the Ukraine’s national interests. It is my strong belief that the Stream is made to destabilize the energy security in Europe and blackmail the upper political echelon there”.
“We, the Ukrainian Parliament and the state authorities, stand firm on the pathway of reforms,” stressed the Chairperson of the Parliament A.Parubiy. “Combined with our international partners we shall repulse the Russian armed aggression and ensure the energy security for Ukraine and the whole free world”.