Europe’s dependence on Russian gas will increase when the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is launched.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said this after a meeting with his Croatian counterpart Andrej Plenković in Zagreb, Euractiv reported.
“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,” Morawiecki said.
According to him, Russia is using gas as a political bargaining chip.
In his sudden visit to Zagreb, Morawiecki spoke of the migration crisis Poland is currently facing at its border with Belarus. Morawiecki believes that the “artificially provoked migrant crisis, the accumulation of the Russian army around the border with Ukraine and along the border in the Kaliningrad region, and the energy crisis partly caused by Russia’s manipulation of gas prices, are all forms of Russian political pressure on the EU.”
Morawiecki said that regimes such as Belarus, which encourage destabilization beyond their borders, are responsible for the growth of various destabilizing processes in the Balkans.
The Croatian PM agreed that Poland faces an orchestrated attempt to be destabilized, adding that Croatia sometimes faces a similar problem.
That is why Croatia knows “how important and substantial” it is to guard the borders of Poland and Croatia, which contributes to “the security of our citizens and respect for European and international norms,” the Croatian PM said.