Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki informed the public at Friday’s press conference that the government would be dealing with the “derusification” of the Polish and European economy. The head of government announced that Poland would counteract the effects of the war in Ukraine, which Poles would feel in the rise in inflation.
Morawiecki also talked about independence from gas supplies from Russia and the allocation of PLN 3 billion to recapitalization of the Gazsystem company.
“Poland loudly raises the need to implement a plan for the whole of Europe in order to become independent from Russian gas. Europe has to move away from dependence on Russia. It will cost, but it is for Europe to be or not to be. The choice is clear. We are either free and sovereign or we are on the side of Putin”, stated the Prime Minister.
The head of the Polish government assessed that the effects of the war would be felt in inflation, but the government would try to counteract it and implement further measures.
„The main goal is to prevent the increase in food prices. Therefore, the government needs to act at the source. Today, farmers suffer from the higher costs for fertilizers. That is why they will be our first element of the anti-Putin shield”, said the head of government during the conference. “These will be subsidies in the amount of PLN 500 for each hectare (up to 50 ha) of arable land and PLN 250 for each hectare of meadows and pastures” – said Morawiecki and added that the Polish government will strive for help for fertilizer producers at the EU forum.
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Henryk Kowalczyk, who was present at the conference, said that the aid for the purchase of fertilizers could be granted from the day of announcing a positive decision of the European Commission on its compliance with the common market. The EC’s decision is needed, otherwise the disbursement of funds would be considered illegal financial aid.
Morawiecki also talked about Russian gas blackmail. “Gas blackmail, using it as part of the war, is an action that we must counteract on many fronts” – emphasized the head of the government and proposed the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline and the extension of the gas terminal in Świnoujście as an alternative to Russian resources.
“We have to think of it not as a sprint, but as a marathon. We are facing economic turbulences, but we want to become stronger” – he added. The head of government emphasized that there is no price that the Community should not pay in order to become independent of Russian raw materials.
During a press conference, Deputy Minister of Environment and Climate Anna Moskwa stated that the government decided to extend the electricity tariffing for individual consumers until 2027, but also to include in gas tariffing all who was impacted by the January gas law.
Arkadiusz Słomczyński