EC wants closer cooperation with Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia on clean energy

PARIS. Feb 14 (Interfax) - The European Commission will seek closer cooperation with Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia on clean energy, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the EC, said.

"Energy security today is much more than just access to energy. And it can only be achieved in cooperation with partners. [...] This means first and foremost to work with the future members of our Union, like the Western Balkans, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia," von der Leyen said at a plenary session in Paris to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Energy Agency.

It means new partnerships across the Mediterranean, with investments in skills in these regions and in technologies, she said. And it also means "greater cooperation with IEA members, from our neighbours, like Norway and the UK, to major economies across the Atlantic and Asia," von der Leyen said.

She also said she was confident the IEA would play a more important role in the clean energy drive. "The old fossil fuel economy is all about dependencies. The new clean energy economy is all about inter-dependencies," von der Leyen said.

But producing clean energy needs investment, infrastructure and innovation, she said.