European Commission is establishing a partnership with Ukraine

The Vice-President of the European Commission for Interinstitutional Relations and Strategic Outlook, Maroš Šefčovič, traveled on Monday for a two-day visit to Kiev, aimed at establishing a strategic partnership between the EU and Ukraine in the field of critical raw materials and batteries. The European Commission has stated that Šefčovič's visit to Ukraine is in the spirit of discussions on strengthening cooperation between the EU and Ukraine in the field of critical raw materials and batteries. In the EU executive, the Slovak EU Commissioner is responsible for the European Battery Alliance initiative, which aims to reduce Europeans' dependence on battery imports from third countries and build their own gigafabriks to produce powerful "green" batteries with the least possible burden on the environment. During his visit to Kiev, Šefčovič has arranged meetings with Prime Minister Denys Šmyhaľ and Speaker of the Parliament Dmytr Razumkov. The main purpose of his visit is to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Ukrainian side on a strategic partnership in order to work more closely together on the supply of critical raw materials and throughout the battery value chain. "Securing a sustainable supply of raw materials is a prerequisite for meeting the goals of green and digital transformation. Our strategic partnership represents a long way to strengthen the resilience of Ukraine and Europe, especially as we seek to bounce back from the current pandemic that has taken a heavy toll on our economies and companies, "said Shefcovich in a report to the media departure to Kiev. His efforts to work more closely with the Ukrainian side are a direct result of the EU Action Plan on Critical Raw Materials, presented by the European Commission in September 2020. The EU also seeks, through strong partnerships with third countries, to ensure a diversified and sustainable supply of critical raw materials, without which the production of next-generation batteries will not be possible.