Ukraine and the European Union are at the final stage of signing an agreement on co-financing the Energy Efficiency Fund in the amount of EUR 100 million, and preparations are underway for launching the work of the fund, Deputy Prime Minister for Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Utilities Hennadiy Zubko has said.

"We plan to sign an agreement with the EU on financing the Energy Efficiency Fund at the beginning of this year. Ukraine and the European Union at the final stage of signing an agreement on cooperation to co-finance the Energy Efficiency Fund," Zubko wrote on his Facebook page.

He noted that the signing of the agreement opens access to irretrievable donor assistance from the EU in the amount of EUR 50 million to finance energy efficiency measures that will be implemented by condominiums under the rules of the Energy Efficiency Fund in 2018, and also helps attract an additional EUR 50 million in 2019.

"At the end of the year, the government approved the charter of the Energy Efficiency Fund and the mechanism for using the funds envisaged in the state budget in 2018. This helps start the process of launching and operating the Energy Efficiency Fund," he wrote.

He noted that UAH 1.6 billion was envisaged in the state budget for energy efficiency measures to be implemented as part of the Energy Efficiency Fund in 2018.

"The benchmarks for our further cooperation with the EU are the selection of the leaders and members of the supervisory board of the Energy Efficiency Fund, the creation of the necessary IT systems (energy audit registers, energy efficiency certificates, monitoring of the results of implemented energy efficiency measures), as well as a public platform for the provision of energy audit services, which will ensure transparency and openness of all procedures as part of the fund's work," Zubko wrote.