Ukraine gets 62 mln USD from EU for energy efficiency

KIEV, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine has received 50 million euros (about 62 million U.S. dollars) from the European Union (EU) for energy efficiency projects, the Ukrainian government press service said on Wednesday.

The funds will go to the Energy Efficiency Fund, the money from which are used mostly for improving the heat insulation of residential buildings, said a statement on the government website.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Gennady Zubko said in a statement that Kiev is counting on receiving more aid for energy effectiveness from the EU and other international donors in the coming years.

Ukraine, which uses three times more energy per person than the average EU member state, is struggling to cut its dependence on energy resources, of which around 40 percent are supplied from abroad.

This year, Ukraine has allocated 61.3 million dollars from its budget to finance the Energy Efficiency Fund.

The Ukrainian government has listed boosting the energy efficiency among its priority tasks. Enditem