Without immediate political action, the Qemetica Soda Polska plant in Inowrocław County may be forced to lay off 350 employees. Members of the European Parliament from the Law and Justice party (PiS) are intervening in the matter. On Sunday, Patryk Jaki emphasized that the dire situation of the company is the result of the European Union’s implementation of what he called a “foolish, ideological ETS policy.”
On Sunday, Law and Justice politicians held a press conference in front of the Qemetica Soda Polska plant. Three hundred and fifty of its employees may soon lose their jobs.
“This is a plant which — along with other industrial facilities in this part of the country — is on the verge of collapse. It is collapsing due to a foolish, ideological policy that brings no benefit, namely the ETS [Emissions Trading System],”
MEP Patryk Jaki told the media.
“Soda is needed, after all. It is being sold and will continue to be needed. The problem is that the soda produced here is being replaced by soda from Turkey and other parts of the European Union. That’s because in Poland we have a group of people in power who believe that if we don’t act, the Earth will burn. The problem is, the Turks don’t think the Earth will burn,”
he said.
He stressed that the fight against carbon dioxide emissions is costing Polish workers their jobs. He noted that CO₂ reduction only makes sense if it is pursued globally. As he pointed out, that is currently not the case. What is more, emissions have actually increased in recent years.
“We are the losers of Europe,”
he concluded.
“We want to say this loudly because the current government — unfortunately — supports this foolish green policy, including their presidential candidate,”
he declared.
Two Possible Solutions
Jaki pointed to a possible solution: “Next year, CBAM comes into force — that is, a tax on products from outside the EU, which are cheaper because their production is not subject to this foolish ideological policy. […] The problem is that soda is not currently among the products to be covered by tariffs. However, it could be, because the European Commission has already announced that it will expand the scope of CBAM,” he said.
“So, there are two steps that could be taken to save jobs, as well as strategically important plants from a national security perspective. First — a takeover of the plant by a state agency or by Orlen, would, in any case, be a logical move under the current circumstances. Second — to fight for the inclusion of soda under CBAM from next year onward, which would be a very rational step,”
he stated.
A Call for Immediate Action
Also present at the press conference was a representative of the plant’s trade union. He noted that they are in talks with MPs, senators, and MEPs from all political parties willing to engage in dialogue. He appealed to all politicians capable of taking meaningful action to intervene in order to save the plant.
“As MEP Jaki said, the CBAM mechanism is a solution, but it is a solution that might come into effect on January 1st of next year. Until that day — without immediate action — this plant will not survive. It will be permanently shut down. Jobs here are truly at risk,”
he said.