Poland has called on the EU to impose a tax on Russian energy imports and said it will stop making its own purchases this year, calling Moscow’s reliance “dumb.”
The EU has so far refrained from following the US in blocking Russian oil and gas, despite Germany’s opposition due to its reliance on Russian supplies.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said it was critical to “take this blackmail tool, this war tool away from Putin,” citing Russia’s use of earnings from energy exports to “develop a military arsenal and be ready to strike its neighbors.”
The EU has stated that it will reduce its Russian gas imports by two-thirds this year.
Last year, Russia supplied around 40% of the EU’s gas.
Germany purchased 55 percent of its natural gas, half of its coal, and roughly 35 percent of its oil from Russia prior to the Ukraine war.
Morawiecki claimed that an EU tax was needed because Germany and other European countries were unwilling to cease buying Russian energy goods because they were cheaper, and that the fee would “equalize energy prices throughout the European Union.”
The prime minister said Poland was hoping to wean itself off Russian oil and gas by the end of the year.
Morawiecki said legislation proposed by the government to ban Russian coal imports could come into force in April or May.
Climate Minister Anna Moskwa said Poland was technically ready to give up Russian sources of energy thanks to its network of pipelines and storage facilities.
Meanwhile, Germany upgraded the degree of alert in its emergency gas plan on Wednesday, amid fears that Russia would cut off supply if Western countries refused to pay in rubles.
