Focus on Ukraine: Energy Security for Ukraine and Europe

Reforming Ukraine's energy sector was vital for the future of Ukraine's economy and security. Ukraine narrowly averted national bankruptcy following the global financial crisis. But Ukraine's economic recovery depended on reforming the energy sector, which had suffered severe politicization since the 1990s leading to non-transparent business operations and mega-corruption.

European concerns about secure gas supplies from Russia, via Ukraine, had become the overarching policy matter on the EU-Ukraine agenda. To strengthen Ukraine's energy sector, the new Ukrainian president should start abandoning domestic subsidies for oil and gas prices and let the price reach global market levels. The energy sector also had to improve its business transparency significantly in order to encourage foreign capital investment.

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