A new regional task force under the EU Energy Platform has been formally launched today, involving 9 EU countries (Austria, Czechia, Germany, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Slovenia, and Slovakia) from Central-Eastern Europe, as well as Ukraine and Moldova. It is the second such structure, following the South-East Europe regional group set up at the end of April. The initiative came after several EU countries of the region saw important reductions in Russian gas exports to their markets in June.
The task force will concentrate on implementing the REPowerEU plan in the region. The aim is to reduce dependency on Russian fossil fuels, fill storage ahead of next winter and further accelerate the decarbonisation of the energy sector. The task force will also support and coordinate the implementation of the joint preparedness plans in the region, including international purchase, storage and interconnections – thus contributing to the security of supply in the region, and beyond.
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