As well as improving the legislative and regulatory environment, the project aims to enhance the investment climate for key energy infrastructure projects. A second regional office, which will cover Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine, will operate in Kyiv.

Katarina Mathernova, Deputy Director-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations at the European Commission, underlined the relevance of the project in her speech to mark the opening of the office: “With Georgia preparing to adopt EU standards in the energy sector, the launch of this project is as timely and relevant as ever.”

She added that “the European Commission is here in Georgia with our partners from the international financing institutions to support energy efficiency in [the] construction of new buildings; we are glad to see that the joint efforts between the Georgian Government, the EU and the Energy Community Secretariat are helping to advance this process, as well as serve as a focal point for EU4ENERGY in Azerbaijan and Armenia.” 

The EU4ENERGY Governance component is a EUR 6.8 million programme for the Eastern Partnership countries. It is part of the wider EU4ENERGY 21 million EUR initiative, which also includes Central Asian countries. 

Source: EaP

Further information on EU4Energy is available here