On Thursday afternoon, in the presence of Belgium’s Federal Minister of the Interior, Institutional Reforms and Democratic Renewal Annelies Verlinden, Brussels Commissioner for Europe and International Organisations Alain Hutchinson and Mayor of Ixelles Christos Doulkeridis, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola donated, on behalf of the Parliament, a generator to the Generators of Hope campaign.
At the event, President Metsola said: “I am proud to donate this generator on behalf of the European Parliament to the brave people of Ukraine, as part of our Generators of Hope campaign.
Millions of Ukrainians are left without electricity as a result of Russia’s relentless and unjustified attacks on critical civilian infrastructure.
With this practical donation and with the help of other donations from cities and towns across Europe, we want to keep essential facilities in Ukraine running this winter, and provide energy to hospitals, schools, water supply facilities, relief centres and shelters.
Today, in the presence of Federal Minister Annelies Verlinden and Mr Hutchinson and Mr Doulkeridis representing the city of Brussels, I want to thank European cities and national civil protection contact points for their active involvement in our Generators of Hope campaign.
Together we can do it. Thank you and Slava Ukraini.”
Federal Minister Annelies Verlinden said: “We fully support the Generators of Hope campaign. If we join hands with Europe’s 200 largest cities, we can give hope to the people of Ukraine during these difficult times. The generator donated today by the European Parliament symbolises the warmth we want to send from Belgium to Ukraine, as well as our support and courage. I hope many more will follow this example”.
Photos and other audiovisual material from the launch are available through the link below in the European Parliament’s Multimedia centre and on EbS.
Background
Due to Russia’s continuing attacks on critical civilian infrastructure, which violate international and humanitarian law, more than half of Ukraine’s electricity network has been damaged or destroyed, leaving millions of Ukrainians without electricity.
The European Parliament and Eurocities, the network of Europe’s more than 200 largest cities, launched the Generators of Hope campaign on 23 November. The campaign calls on cities to donate power generators, transformers and spare parts of electricity networks to help Ukrainians get through the harsh winter ahead.
The 325 kVA generator donated by the European Parliament is enough to provide electricity for a middle-sized building, such as a school or administrative office.
Ref.: 20221208IPR63301
www.europarl.europa.eu
