Draft of the resolution of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland in the matters relating to the call on the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany for an immediate cessation of the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline
The Sejm of the Republic of Poland calls on the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany for an immediate cessation of the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline understood as a project endangering the energy security of the European Union (the EU), which consequently breaches the treaty principle of energy solidarity of the Member States.
SUBSTANTIATION
Nord Stream 2 is a project regarding a construction of infrastructure used to export natural gas across the Baltic Sea bed directly from the Russian Federation to the Federal Republic of Germany with the omission of the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Belarus and Ukraine. Nord Stream 2 poses a real threat to the energy safety of Europe. In particular it leads to a monopoly of natural gas supply from the Eastern direction. Simultaneously it leads to overpricing, dictated by the enterprises controlled by the Russian Federation.
The Nord Stream 2 project, in its assumptions, undermines the principle of
European energy solidarity, neglects the principles of consultations and
cooperation within the European Union and is aimed at solidifying the dominant
position of Russian Gazprom corporation as the main natural gas supplier to
Western and Central Europe. In this regard one needs to refer to the 10
September 2019 ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union concerning
the OPAL natural gas pipeline – a land
extension of the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline. This judgment confirms the
priority of the treaty principle of energy solidarity in the EU as well as the
Member States actions and decisions.
For the Russian Federation the exports of hydrocarbons is a fundamental tool of aggressive politics regarding the neighbouring countries but also other EU Member States. Furthermore, the completion of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline has a political dimension. The agreement of the Federal Republic of Germany is a consent for the Russian Federation to continue politics based on violating international standards, human rights and the integrity of the neighbouring countries.
The credibility of the Russian Federation, in terms of international affairs, has been undermined in recent years mainly due to its actions in Georgia and Ukraine, as a result of which, against all regulations, the Russian Federation violated sovereignty and territorial integrity of those countries and attempted to destabilise the democratically elected authorities.
Further clarification is required regarding other actions undertaken with violation of international principles and standards. These include, among others, the suspected poisoning of Sergei Skripal by the Kremlin in Great Britain, the assassination of a Chechen refugee in Tiergarten park in Berlin and carrying out a hacking attack on the Bundestag. Moreover, the Russian Federation is suspected to be behind the attacks on Alexei Navalny – one of the leading anti-Kremlin oppositionists. The aforementioned examples illustrate the brutal politics of the Russian Federation, which are contrary to the principles established in the post-war period as well as are the foundations of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The European Union shall take joint and decisive measures counteracting the Russian Federation’s practices. Responding to the fact that the Federal Republic of Germany currently holds the Presidencyof the Council of European Union, the greater is its responsibility to primarily comply with the European solidarity, which is one of the fundamental principles of the European Union. Based on the solidarity, the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany should immediately abandon individual interests and begin to be guided by, above all, the interests of the European Union, understood as a community of values that are shared by its Member States. Therefore, the decision of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany to cease further construction of the Nord Stream 2 project, which is detrimental to the European Union and transatlantic relations, apart from removing the risk of even greater dependence of the EU Member States on Russian gas, will be an expression of the European solidarity aimed at opposing the aggressive politics of the Kremlin, which aim to increase Russian influence in every possible way.
The Sejm of the Republic of Poland calls for a reflection on the principles of a common development of international relations, which ought to be the basis of mutual respect, partnership and good neighbourly relations. This is reflected not only in the calls of the Polish Deputies, but also the calls of the German Parliamentarians to suspend the construction of Nord Stream 2.
