President Andrzej Duda has announced plans to convene the National Security Council (NSC) in light of a major power grid failure in Spain. “I would like to discuss matters concerning the security of Poland’s energy system and our power grid,” Duda said.
President Duda Announces Upcoming NSC Meeting
Speaking at a joint press conference with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Tuesday, President Duda referred to the power outage in Spain as “a kind of warning signal, because energy networks are an extremely sensitive part of energy infrastructure.”
He stated that he would summon the NSC to address the issue.
“I have decided to convene the National Security Council in the near future (…) because I want to discuss the security of Poland’s energy system and our power grid with our partners, once we have more information regarding the causes of the outage in Spain,” he explained.
“We asked the Spanish government representative, the minister, if he could provide more details on the cause of this very serious outage — what exactly triggered it. He said that the matter is still under investigation and that it likely resulted from a combination of several factors,” Duda added.
Three Seas Initiative Leaders Meet in Warsaw
Tuesday’s meeting of the leaders of the Three Seas Initiative took place at the Royal Castle in Warsaw. Attendees included 12 presidents from the region, such as Czech President Petr Pavel, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs, Estonian President Alar Karis, Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok, and Slovak President Peter Pellegrini. Also present were Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and representatives from governments including Ukraine and Moldova. Romania’s acting president Ilie Bolojan and delegates from Austria, Greece, and Slovenia also participated.
During a later press conference, President Duda expressed satisfaction that the summit addressed key infrastructure development issues. “Everyone emphasized that this cooperation has worked remarkably well over the past ten years,” he noted.
“In the speeches, leaders highlighted the investments that have been carried out. In my remarks, I mentioned the Via Carpatia, the Via Baltica, and the Rail Baltica projects. I spoke about the development of interconnectors, which were fundamental in achieving Poland’s energy independence in terms of gas supply. I also addressed the expansion of gas pipelines and cooperation between countries with LNG terminals,” Duda stated.
Expansion of the Three Seas Initiative
President Duda also announced the expansion of the Three Seas Initiative on Tuesday. Albania and Montenegro have joined as associated participants — countries aspiring to EU membership but already seeking cooperation with Three Seas member states. Additionally, Turkey and Spain have become new strategic partners within the initiative.
The Three Seas Initiative was launched by Presidents Andrzej Duda of Poland and Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović of Croatia during a regional leaders’ meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in 2015. This year is recognized as the beginning of the initiative, while the first official summit took place in Dubrovnik in 2016.