What goes on in Poland on the 22nd of September.
EU invests in gas North-South Corridor
79 million euro from the European Regional Development Fund will cover a part of costs of 130 kilometers long gas pipeline Zdzieszowice-Wrocład in south-west Poland. The new installation will enforce the existing regional gas transfer system and enlarge its capacity.
European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Crete said: – This project is aimed to improve gas connections in Central and Eastern Europe and is a concrete example of EU’s solidarity. We invest in thousands of transport, cyber and energy nets all over Europe, so the European Union may develop dynamically and integrate more.
Šefčovič: EU wants to keep transit through Ukraine. Reforms are a condition
European Union will make efforts to keep Ukraine’s role as a transit state after 2019. In return, it expects Kiev to make real progress in unbundling of Naftohaz – said the vice-president of the European Commission for Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič.
– Any transit keeping possibilities are largely dependent on Ukraine’s authorities’ towards unbundling of Naftohaz. It is crucial for the future of Ukraine’s energy sector to make progress in this process – he said.
In his opinion, unbundling should lead to higher competitiveness, benefits for the economy and better functionality of energy system. He added that the European Commission „cannot stop construction of a pipeline that had already begun, but there is a possibility to force Russia to obey EU law while using it”.
Siemens case. Wańczyk: This is how Russia uses Western business
Siemens gas turbines in Crimea annexed by Russia is yet another example of the Russian state cheating on Western corporations – writes Kacper Wańczyk, head of Ukraine and Moldova department in Eastern Department of Polish ministry of foreign affairs.
Wańczyk writes that as a the deal of selling turbines to Russia had been signed, many experts warned that they might go to Crimea which lacks electricity – the peninsula has been cut out of energy supplies from the continental part of Ukraine. Despite that, Siemens ensured that the devices will not be headed to the occupied territory. In the meantime, this year the turbines have been „found” in Crimea. In response, European Union put sanctions on three Russian citizens and three companies.
According to Wańczak, Russia would rather concentrate on gaining informal influences than reforms and restricting corruption. – This is a nature of crony capitalism that dominates in this country. This should not though be a deciding factor in democratic states’ decision making – writes the author. He points that the text contains his personal opinions only, and this is not the official statement of Polish ministry of foreign affairs.