Afterwards, Poland's Jacek Sasin and Germany's Robert Habeck briefed the media on their talks.
Sasin, who is also minister for state assets, said that the energy transition faced by both Poland and Germany was a difficult and costly process, requiring public support.
“I outlined the Polish situation, how much of a challenge transition represents for Poland and what costs it entails - it’s important to be aware of this whole context,” he said.
Habeck, Germany’s minister for economic affairs and climate action, said Europe had to mount a huge effort to become climate neutral, while improving its innovativeness to be competitive with the rest of the world.
“The success of transition depends on solving social challenges,” he said, as quoted by Poland's PAP news agency. “If this isn’t achieved, the whole project will fail.”
Habeck was also quoted as saying that problems should always be resolved "in the spirit of cooperation."
Meanwhile, Sasin told reporters that the EU’s emissions reduction plan, Fit for 55, required that Poland spend an estimated EUR 200 billion on new energy sources, among other costs.
“These sums are beyond the means of our state; it’s important to secure external financing - I’m counting on Germany’s understanding and support,” he added.
Sasin also said that Warsaw sought reform of the European Union’s emissions-trading system (ETS) to make the system stable and predictable.
Habeck said the system should be put under review and adjusted if necessary, adding that renewable sources of energy were the solution.
Nord Stream 2
Sasin told the media that the new undersea pipeline intended to carry Russian gas to Germany, Nord Stream 2, “is invariably a source of big concern in Poland.”
He added: "The German deputy chancellor shared the view that this project shouldn’t be viewed only from the economic perspective, but also in terms of politics and energy security.”
“We agreed that this is precisely how we should be assessing this pipeline,” Sasin told reporters.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP