You're reading: European Commission vice-president says gas transit through Ukraine after 2020 is priority for EU

Ukraine has a huge potential to become an important energy hub and the European Union is ready to support the preservation of Ukraine’s important role in transit of Russian gas to Europe, European Commission Vice President in Charge of the Energy Union Maros Sefcovic has said.

The continuation of gas transit through Ukraine after 2020, when Ukrainian state oil and gas company’s transit contract with Russian gas giant Gazprom expires, is a priority for the EU, Sefcovic said at the 14th annual YES conference in Kyiv on Sept. 15.

It is also important to work together on increasing the energy efficiency of the Ukrainian economy, exploration for gas and increasing bilateral trade, which has already received a boost with the free trade area agreement with the EU going into effect, Sefcovic said.