The aim of the International Coal Dialogue was to explore with EURACOAL member DTEK what steps Ukraine is taking to secure its coal supply. The meeting was organised in co-operation with the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), specifically with the Consultative Commission on Industrial Change (CCMI).

Until now, Ukraine has been self-sufficient in coal. In 2013, the country produced over 60 million tonnes and production was maintained during the first half of 2014. However, since June 2014, coal output has been decimated by separatist fighting in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Production from 66 coal mines has been lost, with just 60 left in production today. MEP Andrej Plenković, Chair of the EU-Ukraine Delegation, lived through war in Croatia and warned of the destructive consequence if the Minsk ceasefire was not respected. He called on the European Commission to consolidate the peace process.

A particularly serious problem highlighted at the meeting was the sourcing of anthracite on the international market. High-quality local anthracite is used at around half of Ukraine’s thermal power plants. Germany is a producer, but there are few others – Russia being the biggest outside of China. However, the maximum monthly supply from Russia is perhaps 700-750 thousand tonnes – not enough to replace the two million tonnes lost.

Please see the full report and presentations at the following link.