Polish Prime Minister Warns EU Green Deal Could Topple Governments

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk gestures during a press conference in Berlin on March 15, 2024. Annegret Hilse/Reuters

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called for a review of the European Green Deal, warning that high energy prices could topple democratic governments.

Speaking in Strasbourg on Jan. 22, Tusk said that some EU regulations have led to a situation in which “energy prices are too high.”

Poland currently holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Veteran center-right leader Tusk told members of the European Parliament that high energy prices “might bring the downfall of many democratic governments.”

EU leaders have prioritized a renewables-first energy approach along with the EU’s aims to be “climate neutral” by 2050, a key part of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s European Green Deal.

“It’s unacceptable that our European energy is the most expensive. If it cannot be the cheapest one, at least it should be more or less on the same level as in other countries,” said Tusk.

“Let us put our thinking caps on and have a review of all the legal acts, including those under the Green Deal.

“We all want to compete against the United States or China, but our energy prices are three times as high.

“We do not want to be naive, because if we do go bankrupt as Europe, who will protect the environment instead of us?”

ETS 2

Tusk mentioned ETS 2, an EU carbon-trading scheme scheduled to start in 2027. Aimed at reducing CO2 emissions from fuel combustion in buildings, road transport, and other sectors, the program makes fuel suppliers responsible for tracking and reporting emissions.

“You can believe me. The political impact is terribly predictable. It will be a very bad, disastrous political impact if the energy prices continue to rise,” he said of the scheme.

Coal is still one of the most widely used fuels for power generation in Poland because of its availability and low cost, according to the International Energy Agency.

The country claims that by 2040, a large amount of coal-fired capacity will be withdrawn from the national energy system, potentially eliminating its use entirely by that time.

‘Naive Approach’

The Polish prime minister also said that Europe should welcome President Donald Trump’s call for NATO members to increase their military spending rather than reject it.

Addressing the issue of “internal security,” he warned the EU “against a naive approach to the threat of illegal migration.”

“And a part of the room was rageful, sometimes they laughed, when contrary to what some people say, that Europe should be a continent without borders open to any legal or illegal newcomers,” he said.

‘Still on Top of the Global Agenda’

The bloc is facing a challenge to decarbonize while ensuring energy is cheap enough to allow industry to remain competitive.

In a September 2024 report on EU competitiveness requested by the European Commission, Mario Draghi, former European central bank chief and Italian prime minister, warned that as the EU struggles with elevated energy prices after losing access to cheap Russian gas, it needs to act or it will endure a “slow agony.”

At this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, von der Leyen reiterated a commitment to decarbonization in a special address on Jan. 21.

“Climate change is still on top of the global agenda. From decarbonizing to nature-based solutions. From building a circular economy to developing nature credits,” she said.

Without mentioning Trump, who on Jan. 20 signed an executive order withdrawing the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, she said Europe was pledged to the legally binding international treaty on climate action.

“The Paris Agreement continues to be the best hope of all humanity. So Europe will stay the course, and keep working with all nations that want to protect nature and stop global warming,” said von der Leyen.

The Epoch Times has contacted the EU Commission for comment.