In the fifth month of the full-scale military invasion from Russia, Ukraine became an associate member of the International Energy Agency (IEA). This was reported on the agency’s website.
The Association Declaration signing ceremony took place on July 19 in Warsaw with the participation of Ukraine’s Minister of Energy German Galushchenko and IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. Associate status will give Ukraine a platform for dialogue with the IEA, member countries and candidates.
“Solidarity is becoming even more important in these times of crisis. Only by being united, are we all able to implement the International Energy Agency’s mission to shape a secure and sustainable energy future,” said Minister Galushchenko. “As a part of Europe and as a candidate for EU membership, Ukraine is ready to take an active role in strengthening energy security in the region.”
The Joint Declaration states that Ukraine and the IEA intend to work together on policy development and capacity building in a wide range of energy-related areas, including market analysis, energy system reconstruction, energy security, efficiency, accelerated energy transition, hydrogen and biomethane, and also energy data and statistics. Specific initiatives should be agreed in two-year joint work programmes.
The IEA has a long history of cooperation with Ukraine. Since 2007, the Agency has conducted four in-depth policy reviews and organized policy events and energy data capacity building in Kyiv and Odesa. The Agency closely cooperated with Ukraine within the framework of the EU4Energy program of the European Commission. The IEA also recently completed a roadmap that looks at how Ukraine can use energy demand containment, a topic that has been a priority for the country’s government.
It will be recalled that on June 22, 2022, IEA Chairman Fatih Birol advised Europe to urgently prepare for the fact that Russia will completely cut off gas supplies in the winter. In his view, Russia resorted to cutting gas supplies to prevent the Europeans from filling their gas storages and increasing their leverage during the winter months.
You can also help Ukraine fight with Russian occupants via Savelife or via an official page of the National Bank of Ukraine.
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