Poland cannot agree to the European Commission's (EC) proposal last week, according to which the Brussels body could impose mandatory gas consumption limitation targets on member states, said Anna Moskwa, the Polish Minister of Climate and Environment, who is also responsible for energy affairs, at a press conference in Warsaw on Monday.

Moskwa presented the Polish position on the EC's new proposal package before Tuesday's extraordinary meeting of EU energy ministers.

It is difficult to discuss the mandatory mechanisms prepared by the EC in a few days, almost improvised, which would force the member states to reduce consumption," declared Moskwa.

He called it unacceptable that the proposed gas consumption mechanisms could be binding on the member states. He recalled: for example, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus and Malta oppose mandatory restrictions.

He added: Poland is ready to negotiate on a partnership and voluntary basis with Germany, for example, on the diversification of energy carriers, and on cooperation between Polish and German petroleum refiners. From the point of view of the Polish economy and energy security, it would be important to develop a solidarity mechanism within the framework of which the EU emissions trading system (ETS) would be reformed and suspended until the reform is implemented, Moskwa said.

The reform of the ETS, including the limitation of the distribution of certificates in financial institutions, was proposed by Poland last autumn.

According to the EC's proposal presented last Wednesday , it would be a goal for all member states to reduce gas consumption by 15 percent between August 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023. This would prevent the looming energy crisis due to the war in Ukraine. The member states would commit themselves to achieving the goals on a voluntary basis, but if the EC were to announce a "union alert" regarding the security of supply, the gas demand reduction would be mandatory for all member states.

2022plus: László Néző is right, there should be a secret commissioner within the European Commission, the "Stupid Ideas Commissioner". We don't know it, but it is a fact that his ideas appear from time to time in EC proposals. We would now also have suggestions for the EC members, but it would not be elegant to write them down.

Source: MTI

(Header image: AFP)