The most important thing during a crisis situation is for Poland to ensure natural gas supplies, the Polish government spokesman said commenting on the latest European Commission (EC) proposal on reducing gas consumption.
The EC has proposed that the bloc’s members reduce gas consumption by 15 per cent between August 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023. A new regulation would also give the EC the possibility to declare a state of alert over the security of gas deliveries and to impose an obligatory reduction in demand. In addition, member states with more gas would have to share it with those suffering a shortage.
Piotr Müller told a press conference in the Sejm, the lower house of parliament, that the EU treaties contained two important pillars – on the one hand, European solidarity, and on the other a clause on national security.
“The most important thing in a crisis situation is to ensure the security of our country and we have that competence, of course resulting from the constitution, but also from the EU treaties,” he said.
“If that security is fully ensured, then, of course, we can talk about certain contracts with other European states on an equal footing,” he added.
The EC believes the EU faces a risk of further supply cuts of Russian gas due to the Kremlin’s weaponisation of the resource. Almost half the bloc’s states have already been affected by limited gas supplies.