Poland says EU energy declaration is price for lifting its Russia veto

WARSAW (THOMSON FINANCIAL) - Poland warned it will maintain its veto on talks on a new EU-Russia accord unless EU members form a united front on the issue of energy, beefing up existing demands tied to a trade dispute with Moscow.

Warsaw wants the European Union to issue a declaration confirming the 27-country bloc stands together on energy, said foreign ministry spokesman Robert Szaniawski.

'The shape of the declaration remains up for discussion,' Szaniawski said.

However, Polish officials have said they want fellow-EU members to pledge to protect the energy security of Poland and other EU newcomers which rely heavily on Russian oil and gas.

Poland has refused to give the green light for talks on an EU-Russia partnership agreement, which would govern key areas, including energy supplies, and is meant to update an existing accord that expires this year.

Warsaw first blocked the negotiations last November, saying it would not drop its veto until Moscow ended a ban on Polish meat, fruit and vegetable imports.

Moscow imposed the ban at the end of 2005, alleging breaches of food certification rules in Poland, but Warsaw claims the embargo is political.

'Lifting the embargo is no longer sufficient,' Polish Foreign Minister Anna Fotyga said Monday, on the sidelines of an EU meeting in Brussels.

Former communist countries such as Poland, which joined the EU in 2004, are particularly concerned that Moscow is increasingly exploiting its market clout for political ends -- by turning off the gas taps to 'recalcitrant' countries, for example.

They are anxious to ensure that more established EU members such as Germany do not shut them out of energy-related talks with Russia.

Warsaw, in particular, has accused Berlin of going it alone in negotiations on a planned gas pipeline running under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany.

Source: forbes.com