Europe must cut energy prices, Polish FinMin says in Brussels
The European industry must restore its competitiveness, but this requires lower energy prices, Polish Finance and Economy Minister Andrzej Domanski said in Brussels on Thursday.
Domanski made the statement after a Thursday morning meeting of the Alliance of Energy-Intensive Industries, hosted by Poland and attended by ministers of 25 EU member states. Denmark and Latvia did not take part in the meeting.
"Over four years, Europe lost 100,000 jobs and nearly 10 percent of manufacturing in the chemical sector," Domanski said, warning of huge challenges that the European industry is facing.
"And we know what the key areas are to restore its competitiveness," he continued.
"First of all, we need to lower energy prices," Domanski said, adding that Poland demands more stability on the European trading platform for the emission permits, the ETS. "The ETS market must not be an area for speculators."
Without economic growth and better competitiveness, there will be no funds to pursue European policies such as the ambitious climate goals, the Polish minister argued.
Commenting on the ongoing discussions in the EU on favouring European goods and services over those from outside the bloc, Domanski said Warsaw supported the idea, but added that "the principles must not be discriminatory for any member state."
Poland, which has a larger carbon footprint than many Western European countries, is concerned that manufacturing could be moved to more environmentally-friendly member states, such as France.
The conclusions from the morning talks were set to be presented at a meeting of EU finance and economy ministers later in the day. (PAP)
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