For years, Europe has benefited from gas supplied from Russia. The current situation has shown that it was a mistake, but it also proven Europe can do fine without Moscow. The upcoming winter is conducive to talks on energy prices.
During the Energy Security after 2023 conference with the participation of the European Commission and the International Energy Agency, Commissioner Kadri Simson raised the issue of limiting Russian gas imports. Poland’s Climate Minister Anna Moskwa shared her thoughts about this.
„Today, in her opening speech, Commissioner Kadri Simson pointed out that the European Union is dependent on Russian gas,” she said. She pointed that the dependence included reliance on LNG, and that a clear strategy had to be drafted. „We believe the strategy should propose a clear path to independence when it comes to infrastrcuture and deliveries. This is not a Polish problem, this is not a Polish challenge. However, this is certainly a matter of concern because any dependence in the European Union on Russian raw materials is dangerous for the entire European Union and for our neighbors. We have repeatedly appealed for such an exit pan, our plan to be prepared. There is no reason for such a plan not to exist,” says the minister in an interview with BiznesAlert.pl.
„We proposed EU goals and at the same time proposed a tax on Russian raw materials in individual economies. There have been long discussions, at virtually every European Council, on this subject. In the end, the idea was not accepted. We will certainly return to this concept at the next Council. If not to the tax, as I understand it won’t be accepted, then at least to a clear plan. There are many documents where this plan can be included. These climate transformational documents, would be a good signal for the market. At the EU level this plan would also be important for other energy sources, including heat sources and other energy sources. We see this plan in various smaller documents where the gas is less and less positively received in the European Union. We see it in the heating industry, we see it in various documents on the energy market. There is no one strategic document,” Moskwa said.
The European Commission has prepared the REPowerEU document. Its fundamental assumption is to move away from Russian fuels before 2030. The question is whether this date is real.
„As we all know, this goal was adopted in the REPowerEU strategy and that is the only big date. If we examine the infrastructure in each country, or the plans to co-finance this infrastructure in individual countries, 2027 is not the year that stems from these documents, so this is just one of the dates. As if 30, 35 or 40 were added in other documents. There is no clear path and this is something that we have been calling for since forever, at every meeting of the EU Council. And we will continue to do so. We need this. We are still in crisis, crisis readiness, and after the war, after the crisis, the European Union cannot return to business as usual. And these dates, in very general documents, because let’s agree REPower is a very general document, will disappear. This determination must be maintained. Of course, we are all convinced that projects like Nord Stream 1 and 2 will not come back. However, LNG is still in European systems and I think we are all determined to get rid of it,” she said.
Cutting the European Union off from Russian supplies is crucial. But it requires national cooperation and consistency. As well as infrastructure expansion and diversification of energy sources.
Wojciech Jakóbik / Marcin Karwowski