After a meeting with his Croatian counterpart Andrej Plenković in Zagreb, Polish PM stated on Tuesday that Russian influence on the EU will expand once controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline becomes operational, Euractiv.com reports.
“Russia is putting pressure on Poland and the entire EU through the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. One part of the EU is heavily dependent on Russian energy, and if Nord Stream 2 starts operating, we can conclude that it will be even more dependent,” Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki said adding that Russia uses gas as a “political bargain chip”.
In his visit to Zagreb, Polish PM spoke of the migration crisis as well, which is currently threatening Poland at its border with Belarus. Morawiecki considers the “artificially provoked migrant crisis” and the energy crisis – which he claims was partly caused by Russia’s manipulation of gas prices – as forms of Russian political pressure on the EU.
In response to the fear of increasing Russian influence the US imposed further sanctions on Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, targeting Russia-linked Transadria Ltd. and its vessel on 22 November.
According to the Kremlin these sanctions were “illegal and wrong”, especially when Moscow and Washington are willing to engage in talks.
However, the Croatian PM agreed that an orchestrated attempt is threatening Poland to be destabilised, adding that Croatia sometimes faces a similar problem.
