Energy security

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki stressed that after Ukraine wins the war, completely new prospects will open up for our region. Poland seeks to develop energy security – its own, but also that of Ukraine and Europe. Discussions are currently underway regarding cooperation in gas exploration in various regions, including Ukraine. This entails modernisation of the network. The modernisation of the connection between the Chmielnicki power plant and Rzeszów is already being implemented. A connection between Chełm and Rivne, which has a nuclear power plant, is also a topic of discussion.

“It is worth redeveloping our energy architecture in every possible way using renewables of the future, which, together with the nuclear, will certainly be the backbone of our energy industry in the 2030s, in the 2040s and in the decades to come,” noted the head of government.

Russian energy monopoly

Russia has been pursuing a brutal policy for years. Back in 2006, Putin used gas blackmail against Poland. Then in 2008, he invaded Georgia. In 2009, Moscow introduced special regulations and thus declared a gas war on Ukraine. In 2014, the Russians occupied the Crimea and part of Donbas. On 24 February 2022, the Russians launched a brutal aggression against Ukraine that continues to this day, with the whole world facing the consequences.

“After Moscow's gas blackmail of Poland and Ukraine, after the attack on Georgia, after the annexation of Crimea, we knew that a hydrocarbon monopoly in Europe was as important to Putin as tanks and ammunition. This is how the Kremlin has entwined the whole of Europe with its gas network, its pipeline network, its natural resources – making it increasingly dependent on itself," said the Prime Minister.

Energy independence

The Polish government knew that the only right solution was to move away from Russian energy resources. We have taken a number of measures that have led to Poland being self-sufficient.

Initiatives of the Polish government to date:

• construction of the Baltic Pipe;
• expansion of the Świnoujście gas terminal;
• investment in a floating FSRU in the Gulf of Gdansk, i.e. a floating gas terminal with all the pipelines needed to distribute this gas across Poland;
• construction of gas interconnectors in Lithuania, Slovakia and, in the near future, the Czech Republic;
• construction of a nuclear power plant;
• construction of small nuclear reactors;
• signing of contracts for the supply of gas from various parts of the world (including the United States);
• conclusion of contracts for the supply of oil to Polish refineries.

“What are the results of the government's energy policy? In two terms of office, we have brought Poland to full independence from Russia. The figures speak for themselves: zero Russian oil and zero Russian gas – today, this is the energy balance in trading with Russia,” stressed the head of government.

Support of Ukraine

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has thanked Polish institutions for helping Ukraine to fix its power grid. Ukraine has synchronised its energy system with that of the EU. Without this, maintaining our neighbour's system would be extremely difficult, and a country cannot function without electricity.

“During my recent visit to Kyiv a few weeks ago, President Zelenskyy introduced to me the tremendous efforts of Ukrainian engineers. He also thanked us for our contribution to the rapid reconstruction and repair of elements of Ukrainian infrastructure network and critical infrastructure. All of this has allowed Ukraine to function more normally – while, of course, it is still far from normal, it is a little more normal,” said the Prime Minister.

Poland has been supporting Ukraine through military and humanitarian activities since the beginning of the war. A delegation from our country travelled to Kyiv already in the first month after the Russian aggression. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński, together with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša, attended the meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.