For several days, the streets of major Polish cities have been covered with posters accusing the policy of the European Union of being responsible for the rise in energy costs. The first signs of a new dividing line between Brussels and Warsaw?
“EU climate policy = expensive energy”. For the past few days, the streets of Poland have been covered with posters bearing this accusing message in blue letters on a white background. While the rise in the cost of energy agitates Polish public opinion, this communication campaign tries to channel towards Brussels a dissatisfaction which might have targeted the government – already losing ground in opinion polls.
“Our energy sector, 70% dependent on coal, is strongly affected by European policy”, admits an expert, quoted by the portal virtual Poland, which publishes this February 14 an investigation into this campaign. Nevertheless, continues the daily, Brussels is at most responsible for 20% of the increase in Polish users’ bills, or three times less than what the posters indicate. In question, the European carbon market, operating according to a system of credits and quotas, the objective of which is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
A distortion of the facts that leads the portal to speak regarding them of “handling”. “For several months, it was clear that energy prices were going to follow an upward trend”, continues another expert. For lack of being able to act on the phenomenon, all that remained was to “invest in propaganda”.
Who is behind this operation? Officially, a consortium of twelve Polish energy companies. In practice, according to the revelations of Virtual Poland, only five of them, “all controlled by the state”, got their hands on the wallet – for a total amount of almost 12 million zlotys, almost 3 million euros. This on the instructions of the Ministry of Public Goods, at the hands of a representative of the right wing of the ruling coalition, resolutely Eurosceptic – and in favor of maintaining the predominance of coal in the Polish energy mix.
While Warsaw had recently sent signals of appeasement on the file of the rule of law which opposes it to Brussels, climate issues might constitute a next fault line.
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