In Brussels, during the ongoing mini-session of the European Parliament, a debate was held with the participation of the Council and the European Commission on the gradual phase-out of Russian energy, Nord Stream, and the EU’s energy sovereignty in the context of the action plan on this matter adopted by the European Commission on May 6. PiS MEPs Beata Szydło and Mariusz Kamiński took the floor during the discussion.
Beata Szydło stated that it was good that this document had finally been published by the European Commission. “But this was supposed to happen much earlier, and this delay has fueled all sorts of speculation that—perhaps—the aim is to return to ‘business as usual’ with Russia,” noted the PiS MEP. At the same time, the Polish politician wondered whether this roadmap would be an effective tool or whether its sole purpose was to appease those who, like Poland, have been consistently calling for an end to the import of Russian energy into the European Union. “Because that’s funneling money to Putin, money he can use to wage war,” she emphasized. In this context, she recalled Nord Stream 2, which had also been the subject of warnings but was nevertheless consistently pursued. “Until it turned out that this was, in fact, an investment that harms the European Union,” she noted. The former Polish prime minister responded to a comment made by one of the debate participants, reminding him that it was Donald Tusk who had consistently supported this project and backed Angela Merkel’s policy.
Mariusz Kamiński said that “Russian gas is steeped in blood.” “Along with it, corruption, backroom deals, and influence stemming directly from the communist secret services flow through the gas pipelines,” he emphasized. As he pointed out, for the Kremlin, gas is not just a commodity—it is a weapon used for political blackmail. “How much hypocrisy is required in Berlin and Brussels to pretend for years that they don’t see this?” the MEP asked, pointing out that despite the aggression against Georgia, the annexation of Crimea, and the war in Donbas, discussions about the future of Nord Stream were still ongoing. “The symbol of this cynicism, this European disgrace, is the name of German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. No more Schröders in Europe!” Kamiński declared.
The PiS politician noted that more than three years have passed since the start of the war in Ukraine, and the EU is only now proposing to end Russian gas imports. He stated that this is an obvious step, but one that is long overdue. “This is a bitter lesson for which Ukraine is paying with blood. Even if the war ends, Russia will not change, and the Nord Stream pipeline should lie at the bottom of the sea, forever, as a monument to political disgrace,” the Polish MEP believes.
