Joint appeal by the European Committee of the
Regions and the European Commission comes as France
hosts international conference to gather aid for
Ukraine.
Cities and regions should urgently consider
donating power generators and heating equipment to
Ukraine to cope with the worst of the winter, the
European Commission and European Committee of the
Regions have urged. The call was made in a letter
sent on a day when the French government hosted an
international con
ference – "Standing with the Ukrainian people"
– to gather aid to help Ukraine through the winter,
as well as a bilateral conference for resilience
and reconstruction with the Ukrainian government.
The
letter
to cities and regions was sent by Janez Lenarčič, the European
Commissioner for Crisis Management, Elisa Ferreira, European Commissioner
for Cohesion and Reforms, and byVasco Alves Cordeiro and Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, respectively
President and Chair of the Ukraine Working Group of the
European Committee of the Regions, which in June formed
a
European Alliance of Cities and Regions for the
Reconstruction of Ukraine
together with associations representing local and
regional authorities of Ukraine and across the EU.
Vasco Alves Cordeiro, President of the European Committee of the Regions,
said: "In the midst of war and a harsh winter,
Ukrainians face one more battle. It is the battle for
light and for heat. Once again, the European Committee
of the Regions stands shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine
and with the Ukrainian people. I call upon regions and
cities from the European Union to join this collective
initiative to provide generators and energy items to
Ukraine. You can make the difference, we must make the
difference!"
Janez Lenarčič, the European Commissioner for Crisis Management,
said: "In support of Ukraine facing an even harsher
winter this year due to the unjustifiable and brutal
war waged against it by Russia, the EU Civil Protection
Mechanism continues to deliver energy generating
equipment, donated by European countries. It stands
ready to do so also from European cities and local
communities under our joint appeal with the Committee
of Regions. In these darkest times, we cannot and will
not abandon Ukrainians."
Elisa Ferreira, European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, said:
"The European Commission via Cohesion Policy and its
main actors and stakeholders – EU regions – stands
firmly on the side of the Ukrainian people. Today, we
join forces with the Committee of the Regions to appeal
to local and regional authorities to donate energy
generating equipment. Together, we can help Ukraine
withstand the destruction of its critical
infrastructure by the Russian aggressor and make the
coming winter easier to endure."
Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, mayor of Gdańsk and chair of the Ukraine Working
Group in the European Committee of the Regions, said:
"Once again, European local governments have the
opportunity to show how solidary and determined they
are to help in a just cause. I am convinced that our
call will not remain unanswered and we will once more
show the strength of the European community. Let us
offer our Ukrainian friends not only moral support, but
also concrete help by providing generators and energy
equipment to Ukraine to help them survive the winter."
The EU is mobilising support through its EU Civil
Protection Mechanism.
Items highlighted on the Ukrainian government's list of
requests are power generators (ranging from 2kVA to
600kVA) and heating equipment and fuel, but tools and
other equipment also feature in the requests filed with
the European Commission.
Background
- Local and regional authorities that are interested in
donating should contact the European Commission's
Department for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid
Operations (DG ECHO), which is managing the EU Civil
Protection Mechanism. The address to write to is:
ECHO-Donations@ec.europa.eu
. Donations will be directed to the 'rescEU energy hub'
established in Poland, with the transport costs
co-financed by the EU.
- Businesses that are interested in donating should
contact the Energy Community Secretariat by writing to
UkraineEmergencySupport@energy-community.org
. The Energy Community, which is based in Vienna and
has 36 members, will help prepare a list of offers.
Offers would then be submitted through the EU Civil
Protection Mechanism.
- The founding members of the
European Alliance of Cities and Regions for
the Reconstruction of Ukraine
are the European Committee of the Regions, which
acts as the secretariat, and a wide range of
associations of local and regional associations
from the EU and from Ukraine. From the EU, they
are: the Association of European Border Regions,
the Assembly of European Regions, the Council of
European Municipalities and Regions, the Conference
of Peripheral Maritime Regions, the Conference of
European Regional Legislative Assemblies, and
Eurocities. From Ukraine, the associations are: the
Association of Ukrainian Cities, the All-Ukrainian
Association of Сommunities, the Ukrainian
Association of District and Regional Councils, and
All-Ukrainian Associations of Amalgamated Hromadas. The Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy and Energy Cities were also founding partners. Any city and region in Europe can join provided
they subscribe to the principles of the Alliance,
including "unwavering support for Ukraine's
territorial integrity and the right to defend its
sovereignty", support for further European
integration and access for Ukraine's local and
regional authorities to European networks, and the
empowerment of local self-government to take on a
leadership role in the recovery and reconstruction.
The Alliance was recently joined by the Congress of
Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of
Europe, whose members come from 46 countries, the
government of Scotland (United Kingdom), the
Barcelona Provincial Council (Spain), Maramureș
City Council (Romania), the City of Mannheim
(Germany), the region of Baden-Württemberg
(Germany), and the MUSOL Foundation.
Contacts:
Monica Tiberi
Spokesperson of the President
Tel. +32 479 51 74 43
monica.tiberi@cor.europa.eu
Andrew Gardner
Press officer
Tel. +32 (0) 473 84 39 81
andrew.gardner@cor.europa.eu