Brussels 29.10.2021 The European Union is perfectly aware that Moscow uses gas for mutually beneficial cooperation, and never blackmails anyone, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel on Friday, October 29, following Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s claims that Russia was allegedly using gas to blackmail the EU into making favourable decisions.
“Russia does not use gas for blackmail, but for mutually beneficial cooperation. The EU and Poland know this quite well,” Zakharova has underlined.
Russian diplomat added that Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo had reacted in a rather bizarre way to Marowiecki’s claims the EU was threatening Poland with World War III.
“The Belgian Prime minister said that those who utter such statements ‘are playing with fire when waging war with your European colleagues for internal political reasons’,” Zakharova wrote.
On Friday, October 29, Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Belgian ambassador to Poland, Luc Jacobs, out of discontent over Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo’s criticism of Warsaw’s approach to its rule-of-law argument with Brussels.
Jacobs met Poland’s Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk on Friday afternoon, the Ministry’s spokesperson said. Diplomats typically use such requests to convey displeasure.
Belgium’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also confirmed the meeting, which illustrates the growing tension within the EU over alleged democratic deficit in Poland. The EU institutions are frustrated with the Polish judiciary reforms, which law experts said have undermined judicial independence, as well as a court ruling that questioned the supremacy of EU law.
Anna Van Densky blog 