Policy

Oleksiy Kucherenko on Sovsun’s initiative to fire the Energy Minister: this is nonsense from the guys who got into the Rada last time

MPs from the Golos faction have said that they will initiate an official procedure to dismiss Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko. Komersant ukrainskyi found out what the scandal was about and how the VR’s specialized energy committee reacted to it.

The dispute between Minister Galushchenko and MP Sovsun

Thus, today the Minister of Energy of Ukraine German Galushchenko in the Verkhovna Rada quarreled with the people’s Deputy from the faction “Golos” Inna Sovsun.

Sovsun once again criticized Ukraine’s intentions to complete KNPP units 3 and 4 and said that this project was allegedly not supported by “representatives of the European Commission delegation and representatives of the American embassy”.

In response, Minister Galushchenko noted that KNPP Units 3 and 4 will run on American fuel and added:

“And as for the position of mid-level clerks of the European Commission representation, Inna, I am very sorry that you are running around embassies and pouring mud on our energy sector and our state. And I want to…,” he said.

After that, the MP announced the registration of the decree on the resignation of the Minister. Sovsun wrote in Facebook that, in her opinion “Galushchenko can no longer make the appearance of adequacy and professional suitability”.

“I reminded him that several months ago the Verkhovna Rada summoned Galushchenko to report on corruption in the Ministry of Energy. He still hasn’t shown up. Our faction demands that Galushchenko to come with a report, otherwise we will block the tribune”, – stated in her message.

The reaction of the VR committee

Oleksiy Kucherenko, MP of Ukraine

In the specialized energy Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of the Verkhovna Rada the act of Sovsun directly called stupidity. So, according to an MP from the faction “Batkivshchyna” Oleksiy Kucherenko, she generally “accidentally ended up in the energy committee of the Rada”.

“She (Sovsun, – ed.) by some miracle accidentally became a member of our committee, because she, in principle, it seems, there in education something did, and then for some reason ended up in our committee. And, as I watch her, she devotes 90% of her time to gender equality, some kind of international tourism very “powerful”. Anything but energy. And here Mrs. Inna, as I see it, has decided that she is a very powerful power engineer, and a nuclear scientist as well. I’m not getting into their relationship with the ministry, I’m not the minister’s lawyer, but I’m not going to comment on what Ms. Sovsun is doing. The only thing is that I am ready to vote in favor of this resolution (on the resignation of the minister – ed.), if Ms. Sowsun becomes the minister. Mrs. Sovsun to the minister, and then I vote! And in general, I’m not going to comment on this nonsense, these guys and girls (from “Golos” and “Samopomich”, – ed.), who for the first and last time got into the Rada,” – skeptically commented the MP.

Kucherenko also noted that as a member of the Committee on Energy, Inna Sovsun “does not represent any value”.

The Ministry’s reaction to the scandal

Since after the verbal altercation between Galushchenko and Sovsun in the Verkhovna Rada, some media started writing that the Minister allegedly called it was the EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Maternova “middle-level clerk”, the Ministry of Energy adjusted.

They said that the minister was not referring to Maternova when he used the phrase “mid-level clerk”. The ministry also pointed out that the issue of the construction of KNPP power units has become a subject of manipulation for certain politicians.

“Unfortunately, the issue of construction of KNPP power units has become a subject of manipulation, including by individual members of the Verkhovna Rada and experts. In particular … private correspondence of mid-level diplomats was used. At the same time, the head of the EU representation Katarina Maternova provided appropriate explanations, which was noted by the Minister during the meeting,” – noted in the press service of the Department, writes UP.

What says Galushchenko about the EU position on the completion of KNPP

According to the Minister of energy, in fact, there is no unified approach in the EU to the development of nuclear energy in Ukraine.

“Therefore, there can be no unified position of the EU on the development of nuclear energy, and, in particular, the construction of our units. And this was appropriately announced by the EU representative in Ukraine Katarina Maternova, who said that the EU does not comment on the issue of completion of the units,” Galushchenko said.