“Transparency is the Most Important Basis for the Recovery of Ukraine,” Anton Antonenko

During his visit to Kyiv, the European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius met with Ukrainian non-governmental organizations and experts. He told about the EU’s Phoenix initiative. This is 7 million euros, which will be directed to the planning and reconstruction of Ukrainian cities using climate-neutral strategies.

Experts discussed the events in Ukraine. Anton Antonenko, Vice-President at DiXi Group think tank, drew attention to the fact that the country’s green reconstruction should be started with something that will pave the way for other reforms. Next, defining progress indicators and starting monitoring them.

“Our team, together with partners, is already working on the development of such indicators, because transparency is the most important basis of such a recovery. It clearly characterizes the difference between the old energy sector and the new one, Anton Antonenko said. – In Ukraine, the Law on EITI, which requires the publication of mining contracts, was adopted. The law is working, but we haven’t seen open contracts yet, and we’re really looking forward to it.”

According to the expert, it is necessary to ensure the compliance of policies: energy, environmental, construction, agricultural sector policies, etc. This will be facilitated not only by coordination efforts, but also by capacity building. The independence of individual institutions, for example, the mining regulator, is important. It is necessary to involve the public, both Ukrainian and European.

And in order to officially structure and launch the process, it is necessary to open EU accession negotiations with Ukraine.