Energy poverty in Europe: situation and solutions marked the kick-off of project REACH. This event, organized on 24 April 2014 within the framework of project REACH aims at exchanging information, know-how and experience from the field of energy poverty at EU level with focus on some of the new Member States.

The day before the event a meeting was organized for project partner organisations. Discussion was mostly focused on the upcoming steps and activities in project implementation. Also, the participants were discussing how to define energy poverty in this region and how to tackle energy poverty at structural and practical level. During the kick-off, project partners and professionals from the energy poverty sector presented the problem and exchanged know-how and experience.

Brenda Boardman (University of Oxford), Lara Blake (Directorate-General for Energy) and Stefan Buzarovski (University of Manchester) held presentations about the range of problems that are connected to the energy poverty problem. Barbara Kalker (Caritas Frankfurt), Zsuzsanna Kiraly (Energy Club) and Vasil Zlatev (Energy Agency Plovdiv) were presenting approaches of their countries in tackling energy poverty at practical level.

The meeting and event were successful. A lot of new ideas were presented and new information was discovered that can help solve the energy poverty problem.
We are looking forward to the next steps REACH project is going to take!