BRUSSELS, May 12. /ITAR-TASS/. A total of €750 million will be made available for first priority projects mainly in the gas and electricity sectors, the European Commission said in statement on Monday.

“These projects will address security of supply issues and help bring an end to the energy isolation of some Member States. They will also contribute to the completion of the EU-wide internal energy market and to the integration of renewables to the energy grid,” the statement says.

“The EU funding will accelerate investment in missing cross-border links by leveraging the necessary private and public funding,” it says.

“This is a crucial step. Such a huge amount of EU financial support will make a solid difference. The current Ukraine crisis underlines the importance of upgrading energy infrastructure and building missing interconnections between Member States in order to enhance the energy security in the EU,” European Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger said.

“In general Member States can only help each other with energy supplies, if they are well connected. Moreover, improving the energy infrastructure is a prerequisite for completing the internal energy market for the benefit of consumers and businesses in the EU,” he said.