US House of Representatives voted last week the draft law on assisting countries in Central and Eastern Europe on the diversification of energy supply to counter Russian influence in the area, according to agency TASS. The bill needs to be adopted by the US Senate and then signed by President Trump to come into effect.

According to the news agency, authors of the bill suggest that it is necessary for the US to help the countries of Central and Eastern Europe to reduce dependence of energy resources of countries that use excessive political influence and intimidation, such as the Russian Federation . Also, the bill aims to increase market competition, according to financialintelligence.ro.

The State Department and related agencies should support „the efforts of the European Commission and the governments of the Central and Eastern European countries to increase their energy security,” according to the draft law. It provides, on the one hand, „diplomatic and political support” and, on the other hand, financial support for certain energy projects.

The document suggests that the agencies associated will be „authorized to commit and spend no more than one billion dollars to support private sector investment in projects that diversify energy sources and transport capacity energy in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and to improve the integration of energy markets in these countries.”