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Nord Stream 2 21 November, 2017 10:00 am   
Editorial staff

Nord Stream 2 is anti-European. Three Seas Initiative will increase the resistance of the region

Krzysztof Szczerski warns that behind Nord Stream 2, which in his opinion is anti-European, there is a great deal of business, but the Three Sea cooperation could stand against them.

According to Krzysztof Szczerski, head of the Chancellery of the Republic of Poland, the concept of the Three Sea Initiative was coined to “not entangle this initiative in the historical, geopolitical context, which Intermarium was.” He was a participant in the panel devoted to this issue at 590 Congress in Rzeszów. BiznesAlert.pl is a media patron of the event.

– Our region is poorly integrated in North-South axis. For some time, the Three Seas Initiative states were naturally integrated in the East-West axis. On the other hand, integration in the North-South axis has been neglected, which has caused a huge deficit in this part of Europe – said the presidential minister. – We do not see our mutual markets as integrated. We always look at ourselves and for the last years we looked as at the competition. Acquisition of investments by the Czech Republic automatically meant that Poland lost them – he added.

The head of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland also stated that the lack of infrastructure connections in the Three Seas Initiative region has negative consequences for the security of the region. – For example, in the context of energy security. It is weakened by the lack of infrastructure connections. This makes it very susceptible to external pressure – Szczerski said.

The presidential minister noted that the Three Seas Initiative region is most vulnerable to fragmentation within the European Union. – If there was a permanent fragmentation of the EU, then this region would be the most disadvantaged. It has to be made too big to collapse, so it would not lose on any division – he said.

In his view, the Three Seas Initiative project is feasible because it responds to real needs and deficits. The key to achieving this goal and the element that has been chosen as the lever for change is the infrastructure”.

In this context, he drew attention to the great interest in Three Seas Initiative idea. – I did not anticipate the scale of this kind of interest, especially outside of Europe. I would like the Three Seas Initiative project not to be related to the activities of other countries. Everyone is interested in its own interests. The whole essence of the Three Seas Initiative is that this idea grew independently out of the region. It was not funded by anyone, hinted or created in opposition to anyone – Szczerski said.

The presidential minister mentioned the construction of a controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. – We must be aware of the Nord Stream 2 issue, of what scale of interests we are facing. It is proportional to the lobbying around this project, which is supposed to shield it – said the presidential minister. He pointed out at the same time that Poland would undertake all measures to convince that the mentioned project was harmful. – However, we are dealing with the interests of two large states, which will launch significant resources for the implementation of this project. Nord Stream 2 is not a side project, but a foundation to their interests. Simultaneously, it has a deep anti-European character, he said.

In his opinion, the Three Sea is already taking steps to diversify gas supplies. In this context he mentioned the development of LNG projects – in terminals operating in Poland and Lithuania and the planned installation in Croatia.

– Each country is different in its own way, but we want to approach it in an integrated way. For example, if we would build infrastructure links, Via Carpathia, the energy bridge with the Baltics and we would think strategically, and not partially, it will become a reality – Szczerski said.