On 20-21 November 2019 Director of European-Ukrainian Energy Agency – Oleksandra Gumeniuk,  took part at the 17th Eastern Partnership Transport Panel, which was held in Vilnius, Lithuania, representing Civil Society Forum of Eastern Partnership (CSF EaP). Where Mr. Gytis Mažeika, Vice Minister, Ministry of Transport and Communication of the Republic of Lithuania and Mr. Matthew Baldwin, Deputy Director General and European Coordinator for Road Safety, Directorate General for Mobility and Transport, Mr. Michael Rupp, Team Leader Connectivity and Mr Boyan Tanev, Cooperation Officer, “Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Eastern Partnership”, Directorate General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, European Commission, Mrs Anna Repullo Grau, Political Officer “Eastern Partnership, Regional Cooperation.& OSCE”, European External Action Service, Ms Veronika Liskova, International Relations Officer, Directorate General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission made their speeches regarding progress and future policy framework development of Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T core network)

Oleksandra Gumeniuk made a speech at the meeting, where she emphasized the relevance and high importance of transport infrastructure decarbonization, which means reduction of CO2 emissions by all types of transport and its infrastructure. Ms. Oleksandra Gumeniuk already represented EaP CSF at 14th and 15th Transport Panels in 2018, arranged consultations with civil society organizations concerning the relevant inputs to the Transport infrastructure EU – EaP policy. An important fact is that energy resources for the administration of transport infrastructure are included in the price of transport services, be it cargo or passenger service. This means that more efficient energy and resource consumption will reduce the cost of airport services to carriers, and therefore in the long run – to reduce the cost of the ticket. In addition to the above mentioned justification of the urgency of the topic of modernization of energy resources consumption by transport infrastructure, there are a number of international and national documents requiring modernization of energy consumption. In particular, the European Commission approved in November 2018 a map of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T core network) in Ukraine and the Eastern Partnership countries. The ultimate goal of the TEN-T is not only to remove the bottlenecks and technical barriers that exist between transport networks, but also to strengthen social, economic and territorial cohesion and contribute to reducing emissions CO2. As far as national documents are concerned, in May 2018 the National Transport Strategy of Ukraine for the period up to 2030 was adopted  where the decarbonisation and reduction of the negative impact of transport infrastructure on the environment were among the five most important priorities for Ukraine until 2030. Taking into account the Energy Strategy of Ukraine for the period up to 2035 and the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Energy Strategy by 2020, The National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency by 2020, the reduction of energy consumption including sector of transport infrastructure, receives a high priority.

World Bank presented the INDICATIVE TEN-T INVESTMENT ACTION PLAN with total investments 12,8 bln Euro into the transport infrastructure till 2030 of Eastern Partnership countries (Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan). All projects were discussed and approved by states relevant Ministries. Now the office of Directorate General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, European Commission provides the consultations with European Investment Bank, European Bank of Reconstruction and Development to involve them to the development of investment programs for the implementation of the TEN-T investment plan. 

However it was mentioned, that the preparation of the feasibility studies for infrastructure projects has a very low quality which slows down the whole process of the infrastructure projects implementation. That is why the technical assistance should be provided by banks. The relevan one is JASPERS under EIB and the new one which is under preperation and will be launched in the end of 2020 – EaP For Connectivity with the budget at least 20 mln Euro, and it will be specifically for the EaP region with the purpose of  implementation of TEN-T Investment Action Plan.

Information:

European-Ukrainian Energy Agency is a member of CSF EaP since 2018 – regional civil society platform aimed at promoting European integration, facilitating reforms and democratic transformations in the six Eastern Partnership countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is a joint initiative of the European External Action Service of the European Union (EU) together with EU, its Member States, and six Eastern European Partners governing its relationship with the post-Soviet states of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine.