“During question time to the government in the Verkhovna Rada on January 10, Minister of Energy Herman Galushchenko criticized the position on the completion of power units of the Khmelnytsky NPP, which was voiced in particular by EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Maternova, using the term “middle-level clerk”.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Source: “European Truth” with reference to the transcript of the meeting on the website of the parliament
Details: Deputy from the “Voice” faction Inna Sovsun, who is a member of the energy committee of the Verkhovna Rada, noted that the committee received a letter from representatives of the European Commission and the American Embassy, expressing concern that information appears in the public space that, apparently, and others support this project.
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“Actually, there is no such support. They would like to avoid such manipulations in the future,” said the deputy.
During the answer, Galushchenko said: “Regarding the position of the middle-level clerks of the European Commission, Inna, I am very sorry that you are running around the embassies and throwing mud at our energy industry and our state.”
After a short verbal altercation in the Council, Galushchenko said that “actually, there is no single approach to the development of nuclear energy in the EU, and everyone knows that.”
“Therefore, there cannot be a single position of the EU regarding the development of nuclear energy, and, in particular, the construction of our units. And this was accordingly announced by the representative of the EU in Ukraine, Katarina Maternova, who said about this that the EU does not comment on the issue of completing the units,” – he noted.
Updated: After the publication of the news, the press service of the Ministry of Energy contacted “Evropeyska Pravda”, stating that the minister did not mean Maternova when he used the phrase “middle level clerk”. The ministry believes that this “distorts the meaning of the minister’s words” and that in fact Galushchenko “mentioned in a positive way the statement of the EU ambassador to Ukraine.”
“Unfortunately, the issue of the construction of power units at the Khao NPP became the subject of manipulation, including by individual members of the Verkhovna Rada and experts. In particular… the private correspondence of middle-ranking diplomats was used. At the same time, the head of the EU delegation, Katarina Maternova, provided relevant clarifications, which she noted the minister during the meeting,” the press service stated.
It should be noted that the connection between the description from the minister and the EU ambassador was also heard in the parliament. It is also noteworthy that the words of deputy Inna Sovsun, which caused a strong reaction from the minister, were also present in Ambassador Maternova’s statement.
Prehistory:
- In June 2024, the Minister of Energy of Ukraine Herman Galushchenko announced that the country expects to use donor funds for the completion of the NPP.
- Already in July, the anti-corruption committee of the Verkhovna Rada found corruption risks in the draft law.
- On December 17, in a comment to “EvroPravda”, the EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Maternova stated that the draft law on the completion of power units of the Khmelnytsky NPP was developed at the expense of Western donors without consultation with the EU, although the Ukrainian authorities have the sovereign right to implement the project.
- Therefore, according to her, the EU will not participate in this, because it “does not finance the construction of nuclear power plants, in particular due to the fact that the EU has different positions on nuclear energy.”
- On December 17, the Council withdrew from consideration the draft law on the placement, design and construction of power units No. 3 and 4 of the Khmelnytsky NPP.