Poland: Casualty of Gas War Between Russia and Belarusia
A decision by the Russian gas company Gazprom to cut off gas supplies to Belarusia, which also affected Poland and
Germany (gas for both countries is pumped through the same pipeline), has provoked another attack on the government. The
opposition wants an inquiry into the country's energy security, and is demanding the resignation of the
Infrastructure Minister, Marek Pol. The Civic Platform (PO) said the government had refused to accept responsibility for
Poland's energy security and has failed to diversify energy supplies, which are currently more than 90 percent
dependent on imports from Russia. However, Prime Minister Leszek Miller insisted that the situation was under control
and that energy supplies were not endangered. Despite this, some big companies such as Police, the fertilisers producer,
had to cut their production in half due to reduced gas supplies. Following an agreement with Belarusian authorities,
Gazprom decided to restore supplies for another 10 days.
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