European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed on Wednesday new macro-financial assistance to Ukraine of up to 9 billion euros ($9.5 billion) this year.
“We will continue to be by their side throughout this war and when they will rebuild their country,” von der Leyen said during a broadcast statement.
“Of course we need to think about the day after and the wider reconstruction efforts,” she said, adding that the EU has “a strategic interest in leading this reconstruction effort.”
EU unveils $220-billion renewable energy plan to sidestep Russian gas
The European Union Commission announced a €210 billion plan ($221 billion) on Wednesday to boost the bloc’s target for renewable energy from 40% to 45% by 2030, as part of efforts to move away from Russian hydrocarbons.
“This will be the ‘speedcharging’ of our European Green Deal,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told journalists Wednesday. “Today, we’re taking our ambition to another level to make sure that we become independent on Russian energy as quickly as possible.”
The Commission’s proposals would see the EU’s total renewable energy generation capacities increase to 1236 GW by 2030, with greater reliance on solar and bio methane energy, as well as accelerated electrification of European heavy industry.
As part of the plan, Von der Leyen also promised to speed up permits for renewable energy infrastructure, from as long as six to nine years currently to obtain permits for a wind turbine park down to one year.
The so-called REPowerEU plan proposes a near doubling in the EU’s current solar photovoltaic capacity by 2025, to more than 320 GW of supply, with a total of 600 GW installed by 2030, the bloc said. Proposed measures will also see a “gradual obligation to install solar rooftop panels in certain buildings,” according to the Commission.
These additional solar energy capacities could replace the consumption of 9 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas annually by 2027, per the Commission’s press release. The EU imported 358 bcm of natural gas in 2019, according to the bloc.Putin’s war is as we all see heavily disrupting the global energy market,” von der Leyen said in a broadcast statement.
Reliance on Russia makes the EU “vulnerable,” and ending the “dependency” is imperative,” she added. “I am deeply convinced we can,” said von der Leyen.
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