Polish PM signs Baltic Pipe memorandum in Copenhagen

While in Denmark, Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydło met her Danish counterpart, Lars Løkke Rasmussen.

Szydło said the Baltic Pipe initiative is key to Poland's energy security.

According to Poland's Gaz-System, the operator of the Świnoujście Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal in northwestern Poland, the Baltic Pipe may be operational in October 2022.

The pipeline is expected to have a capacity of ten billion cubic metres.

Poland's deputy Foreign Minister Konrad Szymański said the Baltic Pipe would be another “window to the world of gas” for Poland.

“We can in this way lead to diversified gas supplies, specifically non-Russian gas, to our market, which is still too strongly dependent on that supplier,” Szymański said.

In a bid to reduce dependence on Russia for gas, Poland has since 2015 been receiving gas from Qatar and earlier this week received its first one-off shipment of gas from the US.

Szymański also criticised the Nord Stream II pipeline, which is to connect Russia and Germany, circumventing Poland and other countries in the region.

While in Denmark, Szydło is also expected to attend an investment seminar where she will meet executives from the Danish food, IT, energy and health sectors.

Szymański added that “Poland and Denmark have a lot in common with regard to security and the single market”.

He said the single market was “a victim of protectionist tendencies, especially in the south of Europe”.

“We clearly see a need to revitalise a coalition of countries – which certainly includes Denmark – which are tied to the single market. We feel a far-reaching convergence of interests with Denmark,” Szymański said. (vb/pk)

Source: IAR, PAP