Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine hosted a meeting under the chairmanship of Maksym Fedotov, General Director, Fossil Fuels Directorate with the representatives of the European Commission.

During the meeting, the sides discussed issues pertaining to the reconversion of coal regions and the implementation of projects, which will allow to address the socio-economic problems of mining towns.

Maksym Fedotov stressed that the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry is studying the best practices of the European countries to implement successful projects in Ukraine. Reconversion issues concern both the public and private sectors, because coal reserves will eventually run out, thus it is important to plan new investment projects and explore the possibility of using the available base for their implementation.

He also emphasized that the Ministry sticks to the Government Priority Action Plan up to 2020, Action Plan for the implementation of the Energy Sector Reform up to 2020 and the Energy Strategy of Ukraine until 2035.

The General Director also placed an emphasis on necessity  to form a register of miners' cities and villages, in which there is an opportunity to implement projects, and to organize a platform for discussion of development directions. The next stage should be the presentation of successful European practices and the suggestions for possible programs, pilot projects with the assistance of the European Union.

Representatives of DTEK, who took part in the meeting,  drew attention to the importance of working with the public and involving the public organizations in this process.

The meeting participants tackled possible sources of financing of projects, in particular,  local budget funds and attraction of donor  support.

On the outcomes of the meeting, the attendees agreed to launch a work in the regions with the heads of local authorities in order to establish  a platform for planning the future process of reconversion and develop a relevant road map.