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Polish Briefing 6 October, 2022 7:30 am   

Polish Briefing: Orlen and PGNiG will help rebuild Ukraine | Morawiecki discusses energy prices for entrepreneurs with Solidarność

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What goes on in Poland on the 6th of October.

Orlen and PGNiG will help rebuild Ukraine

During the International Conference “Europe-Poland-Ukraine. Rebuild Together” organized by the Association of Polish Employers, representatives of PKN Orlen and PGNiG spoke about the investments of their companies in Ukraine, which are to contribute to removing the effects of the war.

Member of the management board of PKN Orlen, Jan Szewczak, recalled that since the outbreak of the war, Poland has been cooperating with Ukraine in the political, humanitarian and energy spheres. – We know the challenges facing Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. To think about the future, you must first win the war. As Poles, we do everything to ensure that Ukraine wins the war. Then we will think about how to rebuild the economy of Ukraine, and according to some estimates it may cost around USD 350 billion, on the other hand, PKO SA bank talks about at least USD 500 billion. What the international community is doing is a drop in the ocean – said Jan Szewczak.

In turn, the advisor to the PGNiG management board for cooperation with Ukraine, Ireneusz Derek, recalled that the company has a developed cooperation plan with Kyiv, which it is implementing. – We have the same contacts with PKN Orlen in the government and in Naftogaz. War changed everything, we all understand that gas means the physical security of our countries. Knowing that Ukraine has huge gas deposits, I would like to ask why it has not become independent from gas imports for 30 years? PGNiG wants to extract gas in Ukraine, last year we bought a company with a license there. I hope that, despite the war, we will manage to do the first drilling this year, it will be our contribution to strengthening the country’s energy security. We definitely want cooperation that will benefit both sides – said Ireneusz Derek.

Morawiecki discusses energy prices for entrepreneurs with Solidarność

The Prime Minister met with union representatives at the headquarters of Solidarity. The talks were reportedly about postulates submitted by the trade union, including the issue of high energy prices.

During the meeting of the National Committee of NSZZ Solidarność in Zakopane, a position was adopted in which the three most important problems faced by Polish workers were identified, and based on them, postulates were formulated regarding: putting a stop to the ever growing prices of energy carriers, increasing the pay of budget workers, and adopting an act on the so-called internship pensions.

Solidarność argues that rising energy prices are the main reason for the high inflation in Poland and Europe. Multiple increases in gas or coal prices are a problem that both energy-intensive companies and households may not be able to cope with.