font_preload
PL / EN
Polish Briefing 20 December, 2022 7:30 am   

Polish Briefing: Poland and Germany voted for maximum gas price | Poland to deploy Patriot launchers in the Lublin region

macro-2942141_1280

What goes on in Poland on the 20th of December.

Poland voted for maximum gas price along with Germany

EU members have reached an agreement on the maximum gas price at EUR 180 per megawatt hour. The majority coalition with the participation of Poland overcame Germany’s resistance, striking the possibility of manipulating the market by Gazprom.

– We welcome the agreement of EU ministers on the maximum gas price of EUR 180 per megawatt hour, which assumes a limit in all European hubs – we read in the press release of the Polish representation to the European Union after the meeting of energy ministers in Brussels.

The dispute concerned the level of the maximum gas price, which was supposed to proof the European gas market against manipulations by the Russian Gazprom. The latter increased the price by systematically reducing the supply in Europe to records reaching EUR 350 per megawatt hour, while at the beginning of the year it was several dozen euros.

Initially, skeptics of this solution – Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands – wanted the price to reach EUR 270 and hold for two weeks, before the cap could be imposed. Their critics, including Poland, hoped for a lower limit, because the proposed one could never be reached and the planned emergency brake would never be applied. According to the findings of BiznesAlert.pl, only Hungary was against, and Austria and the Netherlands abstained. Germany ultimately voted with Poles.

Poland will deploy Patriot launchers in the Lublin region

The Ministry of National Defense has made decisions regarding the Patriot launcher. The system will be deployed in the Lublin region. – So that the tragic accident in Przewodów would not happen again – said the head of the Ministry of National Defence.

After discussions on accepting the Patriot launcher system from Germany, the Minister of National Defense announced that Poland would deploy the launchers in the Lublin region.
– It would be more effective if such systems were deployed in western Ukraine – Minister Błaszczak said. – We hear opinions that Washington is considering transferring Patriot systems to Ukraine. I think this is a good solution, said the Minister.

– Since Law and Justice took over power, we have built over a dozen military units in the eastern part of our country, making assumptions that were later proven in Ukraine that if even a piece of territory is given over to Russian occupation, it ends with war crimes, as exemplified by Bucha or Irpin (in Ukraine). We won’t let that happen. Every piece of Polish land will be defended, he stressed, adding that the strengthening of the Polish Army serves to deter attack.