From the very onset of the Russian-Ukrainian gas crisis, Poland has been drawing international attention to the fact that there is far more to the problem than just the current conflict over prices which led to a temporary stop in deliveries to EU countries.

In the opinion of Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, a Polish MEP and head of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, Russia continues to use economic mechanisms as a means of exerting political pressure on international partners.

Marek Jurek, leader of the Polish Republic Right, considers the concluded Russian-Ukrainian gas agreement a defeat of Europe. In his opinion, Russia has been successful in dividing the EU on energy matters and marginalizing Central European countries. This has been manifested in joint declarations with Germany on the imperative need to continue the Baltic pipeline project opposed, among others, by Poland. Brussels has been turning a deaf ear on Polish appeals for true and effective solidarity in EU energy security.

Hopefuly, Moscow's latest conflict with Kiev over gas delivery and transit prices as well as subsequent developments have opened many European government's eyes to the real threat inherent in insufficient appreciation of the energy security problem.

Click on the audio icon to listen to the report by Sławek Szefs.