Georgia joins Eastern Partnership energy program

The European Commission (EC) approved €30 million for energy efficiency and environmental projects in Georgia, Armenia, and Moldova, said EC on Thursday.

The three countries have joined the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership (E5P) in a move to significantly boost their support for energy efficiency and the reduction of harmful emissions.

The backers are the EU countries, as well as Iceland, Norway, Ukraine and the United States. Georgia, Moldova and Armenia have recently joined. The contributions of donor countries are specifically used in schemes to raise funds at national level, as well as from international financial institutions such as the European Bank for Reconstruction (EBRD) and World Bank Group.

During a pledging conference held on Monday 21 October at the European Investment Bank (EIB) in Luxembourg, the international donor community raised an additional €60 million to enable expansion of the activities of the E5P Fund.

tefan Fe is the EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy and responsible for the EU's policy also towards these partner countries. He was delighted that Armenia, Georgia and Moldova have decided to join the partnership. "The European Commission, as the main donor of the fund, is ready to provide up to €30 million for the three countries that are joining the facility, in order to co-finance energy efficiency and environmental projects in municipalities, Fe said.

According to EU, Eastern Partnership countries face a challenging energy environment. Most are highly dependent on expensive imported gas, which places a heavy burden on their economies. On average, they are three times more energy-intensive than the average EU country. "Therefore it is particularly important to develop their potential for energy efficiency, which will contribute to energy security and economic competitiveness. In turn, this will have a positive impact on the environment, reads the statement of EU.