BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen is traveling to war-ravaged Ukraine on Friday with the promise of 160 million euros ($180 million) in fresh energy funds to get the nation through the winter.
Von der Leyen told reporters that 100 million euros ($112 million) of the funds would come the proceeds of the Russian assets held in the EU because of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. “It is only right that Russia pays for the destruction it caused,” she said.
The European Union estimates that about half of Ukraine's energy infrastructure has been destroyed, making the job of heating homes, hospitals and schools increasingly difficult as temperatures dip ahead of the third war winter that the nation will face.
Von der Leyen said Russia knew full well that bombing energy stations was hitting Ukraine where it really hurts. Morale to keep on fighting can be significantly sapped if millions shiver in the brutal winter for months on end.
“We may see huge implications,” said Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency. “People will look to move around, to go to the places where they can have shelter and heating."
That makes international help all the more necessary, said von der Leyen.
“As Ukraine’s friends and partners, we must do all we can to keep the lights on. And as winter is approaching, well, we must keep the brave people of Ukraine warm, while we also are keeping the economy running,” she said.
Many of the upcoming efforts will go into repairing the damage done. Lithuania, for example, is dismantling a thermal power plant to ship it piece by piece to Ukraine for rebuilding there. With continued electricity exports from EU countries, von der Leyen said it would cover about a quarter of the nation's energy need in the coming months.
The EU is trying to decentralize energy production through the use of solar panels and other new technologies in Ukraine to make it more difficult for Russian attacks to have a direct impact on the energy grid. It would also help Ukraine become a greener economy, she said.
Overall, the EU estimates that it has provided Ukraine with at least 2 billion euros ($2.24 billion) in energy support since the February 2022 invasion. Von der Leyen said she will meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv to discuss energy issues on Friday.
Find more coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presents her new team for her next five-year tenure at the head of the bloc, during a press conference at the European Parliament, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in Strasbourg. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presents her new team for her next five-year tenure at the head of the bloc, during a press conference at the European Parliament, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in Strasbourg. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)
The path for the NFL's Washington Commanders to return to the nation’s capital is clear after an on-again, off-again saga in Congress ended early Saturday with a postmidnight reprieve.
The U.S. Senate passed a resolution to transfer the land including old RFK Stadium from the federal government to the District of Columbia. The D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act passed by voice vote at roughly 1:15 a.m. after more than a year of lobbying and support from Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., district Mayor Muriel Bowser, Commanders controlling owner Josh Harris and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
“We are extremely grateful that our elected officials have come together on a bipartisan basis to give Washington, D.C., the opportunity to decide on the future of the RFK Stadium site," Harris said. "This bill will create an equal playing field so that all potential future locations for the home of the Washington Commanders can be fairly considered and give our franchise the opportunity to provide the best experience for all of our fans.”
The RFK Stadium land provision was part of Congress’ initial short-term spending bill Tuesday before it was torpedoed by President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the latter of whom amplified misinformation about the site on his social media platform X. Two versions of the House's slimmed-down bill, including the one that passed Friday night to avoid a government shutdown, did not include it.
Giving the local government control of the land for the next 99 years allows for the decaying husk of the old stadium to be torn down and the site redeveloped for any number of things. One of the possibilities is a football stadium and surrounding entertainment options at the franchise's former home.
“We appreciate the bipartisan group of Congressional leaders who made this important breakthrough possible,” the NFL said in a statement. “Washington, D.C., will now have a long-overdue seat at the table when it comes to the location of a new Commanders stadium.”
Bowser called it “a win for D.C., for our region and for America.”
“Everybody loves a good comeback story — and that’s D.C.’s story,” she said.
All that awaits is President Joe Biden's signature to become law, which could come as soon as Saturday. Comer went as far as saying that Senate passage of the bill is “a historic moment for our nation's capital.”
“If Congress failed to act today, this decaying land in Washington would continue to cost taxpayers a fortune to maintain,” he said. “Revitalizing this RFK Memorial Stadium site has been a top economic priority for the city. ... This bipartisan success is a testament to the House Oversight Committee’s unwavering effort to protect taxpayers and our full commitment to ensuring a capital that is prosperous for residents and visitors for generations to come.”
Playing in Washington again is no sure thing. The Commanders are also considering other places in the district, Maryland and Virginia to build a stadium in the coming years.
Their lease at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, runs through 2027. Harris called 2030 a “reasonable target” for a new stadium.
The team played at RFK Stadium 2 miles (3.22 kilometers) east of the Capitol from 1961-96 before moving to Maryland. Harris and several co-owners, including Mitch Rales and Mark Ein, grew up as Washington football fans during that era, which included the glory days of three Super Bowl championships from 1982-91.
Ein said on social media, “Still many steps to go and even bigger than a possible stadium last night’s bill was an extraordinary moment of bi-partisan and regional cooperation to do something big and important and get 174 acres of unused, blighted and critical land to DC so they can bring it back to life.”
Part of the way the provision got into the bill initially involved an agreement between the team and Maryland to tear down the current stadium in a timely fashion and redevelop the site with a project of equal economic impact, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press earlier this week on condition of anonymity because the deal was not being publicized.
After the Senate greenlit the RFK Stadium land transfer, Maryland Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, both Democrats, said they continued to believe their state's partnership with the team should continue long into the future.
“After working to level the financial playing field, and receiving assurances that should the team move they will redevelop the existing site in a manner that meets the needs of the community, tonight we supported the proposed land transfer legislation,” Cardin and Van Hollen said. "We have always supported the District’s effort to control its own land, and through regional discussions and cooperation, our concerns with this proposal have been addressed.”
The team has played games in Maryland since 1997 and practices in Ashburn, Virginia, not far from Dulles International Airport.
A return to the district would be another victory for Bowser, who on Thursday celebrated the start of an $800 million downtown arena renovation that is keeping the NBA's Wizards and NHL's Capitals in town. At that news conference, she took aim at Musk for sharing incorrect information on X, formerly Twitter, about taxpayers footing the bill for a new stadium.
The bill specifically prohibits the use of federal funds for a stadium on the site, “including training facilities, offices, and other structures necessary to support a stadium.”
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
FILE - A vehicle pushes up pikes of snow after trucks dump their loads of snow in the parking lots of RFK Stadium in Washington, Monday, Jan. 25, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
