Poland’s Premier Condemns Green Deal; Urges Trump-Style Defense Of Europe
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
STRASBOURG, FRANCE (Worthy News) – Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has urged the European Union to cut the “Green Deal drastically,” saying the controversial environmental program would “bankrupt” the EU.
“How can we compete with China or the U.S. when energy prices in Europe are three times higher?” Tusk asked in a fiery speech to the EU’s European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.
His comments came as millions of Europeans struggled to pay for their utilities in Europe’s winter, partly due to the EU’s climate policies.
Brussels also ended energy cooperation with Russia, though some EU member states, including Hungary, still import cheap natural gas from Moscow.
“It is important to care deeply about the environment, but there is a caveat. We must not lose our competitive edge or become a continent of naïve and gullible ideas and people. If we go bankrupt, we won’t be able to do anything for the environment,” warned Tusk.
The comments by the leader of East Europe’s largest economy outside Russia were closely watched as Poland holds the EU’s rotating presidency for the next six months.
REBUKING TIMMERMAND
Tusk’s speech was a rebuke for former EU Commissioner Frans Timmermans, the Green Deal’s architect and a Dutch leftist politician who raises “alarm about climate change” and “climate deaths.”
His remarks came just days after U.S. President Donald J. Trump announced that the United States would leave the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to support his “drill, baby drill” policies for exploring oil, natural gas, and deregulation.
Tusk, a Polish center-right statesman and former EU leader believes all regulations should also be critically examined in the EU. “I’m talking about the Green Deal. We need to identify the problematic aspects and dare to make changes.”
Besides cutting the Green Deal, which aims to make the EU “climate neutral” by 2050, he made clear that Poland will use its EU presidency to promote strengthening Europe’s defense and borders.
With Russia still waging war in nearby Ukraine and mass immigration continuing, Tusk suggested that the EU should follow Trump’s recommendations.
Poland is a NATO military alliance champion with a staggering defense budget of nearly 5 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). That is well above the two percent minimum of GDP that Trump wants NATO members to spend on the military.
TRUMP-STYLE
Tusk told European legislators to “consider it a positive development” that Trump pressured NATO to do more.
“Only an ally can say this to another ally. Do not view this as hostile toward Europe. Stop asking what America can do for our security and start looking at what you can do for it yourself,” Tusk argued.
Tusk also said the EU, which critics see as a bureaucratic monster, should start “deregulating because our competitiveness depends on it.”
He also fears that governments could fall due to the consequences of high energy prices unless they are tackled in time.
Trust in democracy is also at stake, he argued, particularly due to migration, with millions arriving from mainly Muslim nations.
He said several governments “fail to secure their borders” effectively, whereas Poland, like Hungary, has erected tall border fences.
Tusk said erecting fences or walls like Trump wants near the borders with Mexico should not be a taboo topic in Europe. “We can take action without resorting to nationalist or xenophobic rhetoric.”
If you are interested in articles produced by Worthy News, please check out our FREE sydication service available to churches or online Christian ministries. To find out more, visit Worthy Plugins.