Poland “absolutely against” EU proposal for compulsory cuts in electricity use

Poland is strongly opposed to the proposal by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for compulsory cuts in electricity usage, says climate minister Anna Moskwa.

In a statement yesterday on tackling the energy crisis induced by Russia’s war in Ukraine, von der Leyen made five proposals to curb soaring prices. The first involves “a mandatory target for reducing electricity use at peak hours”, which she said she would “work very closely with the member states to achieve”.

Asked about the idea in an interview with Polsat, Moskwa said that “we will be absolutely against it” and reminded von der Leyen that “she has no competence to force any country” to cut energy use. “We have our own competences, and we don’t need any [commission] president or anyone else.”

The interviewer noted that Poland was also opposed earlier this year to an EU proposal for member states to cut gas usage by 15%, but that it was passed anyway. Currently the system is voluntary, but five member states can declare an emergency situation in which a vote is held on making the cuts compulsory.

Moskwa responded that, even if the latter were to happen, “that does not mean we will implement these restrictions”. She accused the “EU of trying to grant itself competences that it does not have…Decisions regarding energy mix are the independent competences of the countries.”

However, Moskwa noted that this does not mean Poland is opposed to the idea of cutting usage, and she said that the country had already done so by 25% in industry and 17% in general.

Long before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Poland had been seeking to reduce its dependence on Russian energy supplies. Such efforts – which include a new gas pipeline from Norway and plans for a second LNG terminal – have accelerated further since February, with Poland pledging to end all Russian energy imports this year.

Gas imports ended ahead of schedule, in April, when Moscow itself terminated gas supplies to Poland after Warsaw refused to pay in roubles.

Poland has called on other countries to also end or at least more quickly and significantly reduce imports from Russia, and has been particularly critical of Germany’s longstanding reliance on Russian energy.

Main image credit:  Anastasiya Dalenka on Unsplash

Daniel Tilles

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.