Poland has turned down the EU’s plan to cut down on energy use.
Anna Moskwa, Poland’s climate and environment minister, told the news outlet Sieci that the European Commission won’t be able to force Poland to follow the EU’s new plan to cut gas consumption. Poland also won’t share its gas reserves with other members of the bloc.
“Each state is responsible for its own energy security, and we will never agree to give it to the European Union. No one can force us to put restrictions on gas or do anything else that would hurt us. The minister was also quoted as saying, “We don’t want to decide on restrictions in other states.”
Her comments were about the EU’s plan to cut gas use by 15% across the bloc. It is hoped that this will help member states fill their gas storages in case Russian gas supplies stop. Moskwa said in the interview that the plan wasn’t made a law, so it should be seen as advice instead of law.
“It will be up to each country to decide if they want to do it or not,” she stressed.
Even though it doesn’t look like the plan calls for EU members to share their gas reserves, the minister was adamant that Poland would keep its gas to itself no matter what.
“No one is going to take our gas.
I want to stress that the EC can’t make us do anything. “There is no solidarity without freedom, and it ends where coercion begins,” she said. “The infrastructure, gas pipelines, and purchased gas are the property of our state, and only we can decide how we use it and for whose needs.”
“Of course, if there are EU countries with the right skills and infrastructure, they can always help their neighbors through a bilateral agreement,” Moskwa said, but he added that it is unlikely that “Brussels would force us to help.”
