Poland announces ‘de-Russification’ of its economy
Poland will start steering its economy clear of ties to Russia along with other European states, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced at a press conference on Friday.
“We present the first part of the anti-Putin shield. We are starting a complete de-Russification of the Polish and European economy,” he declared, explaining that this means, among other things, scrapping contracts for the purchase of Russian oil, gas and coal. He noted that “it can and will cost a lot,” but added that the current state of affairs, and Moscow’s policies, are already taking a toll on his country.
Morawiecki pitched a package of measures to support the Polish economy, naming “countering the rise in food prices” brought about by rising costs of fertilizers, among its top priorities. Warsaw also plans to finance the development of the domestic energy sector, including the state-run Gaz-System company, which operates a network of gas pipelines and builds new infrastructure. In order to “mitigate the effects of inflation,” which soared to historic highs in the euro zone over the past month, the Polish government intends to pay an extra ‘thirteenth’ pension this year to support its citizens.
The EU imposed several rounds of sanctions against Russia following Moscow’s launch of a military operation in Ukraine. However, these policies, along with Russia’s own response measures, have already started to backfire on European countries, pushing up prices and bringing supply-chain constraints.
However, instead of negotiating, some EU states have been pushing for further steps to sever cooperation with Moscow. Poland has been rather vocal about it, and even suggested the use of Russia’s frozen foreign assets to fund restoration in Ukraine earlier this week.
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