Czech PM seeks Polish help in achieving energy independence from Russia
The Czech prime minster has said Poland can help end his country’s dependency on Russian energy.
Petr Fiala told a joint press conference with his Polish counterpart, Mateusz Morawiecki, that Prague was "fully aware of the fact that in recent years Czechia has not made sufficient effort to ensure energy security."
"We have become dependent on Russian resources and we want to end that dependency as quickly as possible," Fiala said. "We hope the Republic of Poland will come to our aid here, that's why we will further discuss and negotiate matters related to energy infrastructure, this concerns mostly a return to the Stork II project and building gas pipeline infrastructure."
The Stork II project concerns a Polish-Czech gas interconnector together with extended gas infrastructure in both countries as part of the North-South Corridor in Central and South-eastern Europe, a plan supported financially by the EU through its Connecting Europe Facility.
Fiala said this project had been "dormant" recently and that a return to it would enable the Czech Republic to strengthen its situation.
His talks with Morawiecki were part of broader Polish-Czech inter-governmental consultations, held in Prague on Friday, which culminated in the signing of defence and infrastructure agreements between the two countries' ministries.
