Polish President Andrzej Duda urged the German government to give up on Nord Stream II construction. He made the respective statement at the joint press conference with German President Frank-Walther Steinmeier on Tuesday, October 23, as Ukrinform wrote.
Duda called on Germany to drop this initiative since Nord Stream II creates a hazard for Ukraine and Slovakia. The Polish President insisted that the new pipeline would breach the current energy balance, posing danger to the energy safety of some countries in Central and Eastern Europe. That circumstance, in turn, would increase the dominating position of Russian state-run energy monopolist Gazprom.
According to Duda, it is not about the economic but more like about the geostrategic project; Warsaw expects the official EU support on this matter, he said.
Instead of buying the Russian gas, the Polish side opts to buy the liquefied natural gas, specifically from the U.S.
Ukraine, Poland, and the Baltic States have been strongly opposing the construction of Nord Stream II, saying it would be a gas needle that increased the EU addiction to Russian energy carriers. Germany, Sweden, and Finland already issued the permissions for construction in their territorial waters; Denmark took a pause to consider the option.