Energy security: Pipe dream?

The trip represents a policy shift for the Poland which, under the Kaczyński government, kept its distance from Russia.

While PM Tusk and Russian President Putin have much to discuss, one of the most important issues on the agenda will be a new Polish proposal to build a gas pipeline from Russia to Germany via the territory of Poland and the Baltic States, Dziennik daily reported.

The plan is an alternative to a pipeline to be constructed under the Baltic Sea by the German-Russian Nord Stream consortium. Since that pipeline project bypasses Poland, it has stirred a great deal of controversy due to fears that Russia could cut gas flows to Poland while maintaining delivery to Western Europe. 

The key argument for the solution offered by the Polish government is the cost of gas transport - the Polish proposal would cost half the price of the Nord Stream pipeline. But however reasonable this argument, it may not suffice because the issue is wrapped up in politics rather than economics, said Dariusz Malinowski of Nowy Przemysł, an energy and heavy industry trade magazine. "The Nord Stream pipeline is an element of Russia's political strategy," he told WBJ.

Polish MEP Marcin Libicki is preparing a report showing that the scale of the investment is dangerous for the environment. Libicki wants the European Parliament to draft a resolution that would require the European Commission to take a stance on the issue of the Nord Stream pipeline, RMF FM radio reported.

According to Malinowski, the ecological angle may provide the strongest argument against construction, especially given the recent protests of such countries as Sweden, where environmental issues strike a deep chord in society.