Sep 27, 2022
By Bob Komsic
President of Poland Andrzej Duda, fourth left, Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen, fourth right, and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, second right, take part in an opening ceremony of the Baltic Pipe in Budno, Poland, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022.
(AP Photo)
“The era of Russian domination in the gas sphere is coming to an end,” Morawiecki declared. “An era that was marked by blackmail, threats and extortion.”
No official presented evidence of what caused the Nord Stream problems, but with distrust of Russia running high, some feared Moscow sabotaged its own infrastructure out of spite or to warn that pipelines are vulnerable to attack.
The leaks off the coast of Denmark and Sweden raised the stakes on whether energy infrastructure in European waters was being targeted and leading to a small bump in natural gas prices.
“We can clearly see that this is an act of sabotage, an act that probably means a next step of escalation in the situation that we are dealing with in Ukraine,” Morawiecki said.
The Nord Stream pipelines have been at the center of an energy clash between Europe and Russia since the invasion of Ukraine in late February.
Plunging Russian gas supplies have caused prices to soar, pressuring governments to help ease the pain of sky-high energy bills for households and businesses as winter nears.
The crisis also has raised fears of rationing and recession.
The Baltic Pipe is a prominent element in the European Union’s search for energy security and is to start bringing Norwegian gas through Denmark and along the Baltic Sea to Poland on Oct. 1.
To learn about advertising opportunities with Zoomer Radio use the link below: