Duda: "North Stream-2" undermines the unity of Europe

Polish President Andrzej Duda spoke at a joint press conference with the President of the European Council Donald Tuski-a former Prime Minister of Poland

President of Poland Andrzej Duda said on Monday that plans for the construction of a new pipeline for pumping Russian gas to Germany bypassing Ukraine are dictated by politics, not economics and undermine the solidarity of the European Union.

“We do not agree with this investment project. It has nothing to do with the economy,” said Duda, speaking at a joint briefing in Brussels with the President of the European Council Donald Tupskoy. “These investments are political in nature,” he said.

The North Stream-2 pipeline, according to its opponents, will deepen the dependence on the supplies of Russian gas from Gazprom and will undermine the solidarity of the energy union to the EU.

Earlier, Tusk told reporters that he and Duda always held a similar position on the North Stream-2 project. Tusk, who served Polish Prime Minister in the past, said on Monday that he was not enthusiastic about the fact that Brussels began monitoring the supremacy of the law in Poland after a number of steps of the new right-wing government in Warsaw.

Tusk, which presides at meetings of the leaders of the 28 EU countries, noted that the situation in Poland will not be included on the agenda of the next meeting of the Council in February. "I do not think that this is a good idea to discuss the situation in Poland in the European Council," Tusk said.