Poles To Freeze Brussels’ Sprouts

Global Warming Politics

On October 2, Poland persuaded Greece to join its dissenting group, which also comprises Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia. Under EU rules, decisions can be blocked by a given number of member states, and the Poles have constructed such a ‘blocking minority’. The states in question are all deeply concerned that current EU plans to introduce a 100 per cent auction of carbon-trading quotas by 2013 will result in the closure of key coal-fired power stations, thus compelling Eastern European countries to build natural gas facilities. This means that they will be increasingly in hock to gas pipeline supplies from Russia [above: current Russian oil and gas pipelines to Europe. Source: United States Department of Energy]. Unsurprisingly, they regard this as a most dangerous geopolitical move for their future energy security. Poland, for example, relies on its domestic coal reserves to meet 90 per cent of its energy demands, and, along with the other five countries in the block, it will resist vigorously any policy that exposes it to dependency on the Kremlin. Who wouldn’t?...