What goes on in Poland on the 26th of September
Waszczykowski: Visegrad integration should be based on common values
If we base out integration on common values, we will have a future – said the minister of foreign affairs Witold Waszczykowski at a yearly conference organized by Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) in Washington.
On the last day of his visit in the USA, head of Polish diplomacy took part in a debate dedicated to tightening cooperation between the Visegrad Group and the US. CEPA works actively on shaping close relations with Poland and other states in Central and Eastern Europe.
-Russia does not feel well talking with 28 countries at one table, that is why it chooses a few, with whom they discuss the world’s future. This is unacceptable – stressed the head of Polish diplomacy – Zapad 17 is an extraordinary situation. For the first time since the end of the cold war, Russia is running mass military exercises gathering 100 thousand soldiers. NATO’s defensive statement does not provoke such big military actions – he noticed.
On the last day of his visit, Waszczykowski met Kurt Volker, United States Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations and Karen Donfried, German Marshall Fund chairman.
Piotrowski: It is better not to have an energy strategy than to have a bad one
Vice-minister of energy Andrzej Piotrowski took part in presentation of report „Polish energy sector in 2050. 4 scenarios. Economic, social and environmental effects of decisions” written by Energy Forum and WiseEuropa.
– We have to be aware that in energy sector, a strong evolution is going on. It might be similar to the one in telecommunication sector – he said. Piotrowski also commented EU’s climate policy: – Did Germany declare they would give up brown coal? What climate policy do they have, since they do not have supplies from renewable sources? Do they have other source? Yes, gas. But German geopolitical situation is different than Polish. Do we want to be independent from gas? Can we lead to a situation where we are fully independent by expanding the LNG terminal? – asked the politician.
In his opinion, more gas supplies from Russia would put Poland at risk of Russian blackmailing. – There is a thesis that Poland does not have an energy strategy. We may announce the strategy, accept main goals and later wonder why we did not fulfill them – said Piotrowski and added that the final shape of EU’s energy policy is not yet known.