European Union finance ministers have agreed on how to finance and allocate 20 billion euros (19.8 billion U.S. dollars) needed to help reduce the bloc’s dependency on Russian energy imports.
“Today, we achieved a major step forward in strengthening Europe’s autonomy from Russia’s fossil fuels,” said Czech Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura, who chaired the talks, in a press release on Tuesday.
“It will help improve EU energy security and tackle high energy prices by investing quickly where it matters most,” EU Economic Commissioner, Valdis Dombrovskis, wrote on Twitter.
EU ministers agreed that the money should be raised by taking resources from the EU’s innovation fund and selling carbon dioxide (CO2) emission licenses to industries sooner than foreseen.
The allocation of the money should take into account, among other things, the extent to which EU countries are dependent on fossil fuels, according to the release.
It said the 20 billion euros are part of a plan of the European Commission to raise up to 300 billion euros in loans and grants to boost investments into renewable energy.
“This will be as a long-term response to skyrocketing energy prices in the EU as a consequence of Russia’s war on Ukraine.”
A large part of the sum up to 225 billion euros is to be unclaimed money from the EU’s COVID-19 recovery fund, according to the commission’s proposal.
