BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 30. The European
Investment Bank (EIB), the lending arm of the European Union, has
signed a €50 million long-term financing agreement with Ukraine’s
state-owned energy company Naftogaz to support urgent natural gas
imports and help stabilize the country’s energy system during
winter, Trend
reports via the EIB.
The financing is aimed at safeguarding heating and energy
supplies for households, critical infrastructure and businesses as
temperatures across Ukraine plunge and pressure on the energy
system intensifies amid continued attacks on energy
infrastructure.
The operation builds on the EIB’s earlier €300 million loan to
Naftogaz and complements broader EU support, including €127 million
in grant funding for gas procurement enabled by the Norwegian
government through its contribution to the Ukraine Investment
Framework. Together, the measures reinforce a coordinated EU
response to Ukraine’s most pressing energy needs.
Alongside the emergency support, Naftogaz has committed to
reinvesting an amount equivalent to the EIB financing into
renewable energy and decarbonization projects, linking short-term
energy security with longer-term green transition goals.
The loan forms part of the EIB’s Ukraine Energy Rescue Plan and
is delivered within a coordinated Team Europe approach. It is made
possible by the European Commission through the derisking mechanism
of the EU’s Ukraine Investment Framework. The financing includes
safeguards to prevent the import of Russian gas and requires
continued adherence to transparency and good governance
standards.
The European Investment Bank is the EU’s long-term lending
institution, owned by its Member States. It finances projects
aligned with EU policy priorities, including climate action,
innovation, security, social infrastructure and cohesion. Active in
Ukraine since 2007, the EIB has significantly increased its support
since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, providing €4 billion in
financing to date. Through its EU for Ukraine (EU4U) initiative and
its role in implementing a dedicated window of the Ukraine
Facility, the Bank remains a central pillar of the EU’s financial
support for Ukraine’s resilience and recovery.
Since the first days of the full-scale war with Russia, the
Ministry of Energy of Ukraine has been in dialogue with
international partners to provide assistance to the Ukrainian
energy sector, which is being mercilessly shelled by the enemy.
The Ministry of Energy has a working group to organize
humanitarian aid to the energy sector, which collects applications
from Ukrainian energy companies regarding their needs, processes
them and passes them on to partners who are ready to provide
appropriate assistance.
In April 2022, Energy Support Fund for Ukraine was established
by the Energy Community. The Fund's donors are individual states,
international companies and organizations. The main objective of
the Fund is to help energy companies quickly restore damaged or
destroyed energy infrastructure as a result of Russian shelling.
The Fund is used to purchase equipment that cannot be provided by
international partners as humanitarian aid. Assistance is provided
in the form of equipment purchased by the independent procurement
agent UTA-SWECO based on the results of tender procedures.
Under the patronage of the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine and the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, with the support of the
European Commission and EISMEA, the Enterprise Europe Network in
cooperation with the EU Clusters is also searching for partners in
the electricity sector on the Electric Energy matchmaking Forum
platform.
