What is the threat of stopping the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline to Poland?

The story of the Ryanair landing in Minsk will undoubtedly not go unnoticed in Europe, which is already preparing a package of sanctions against Belarus. However, the reality today is that not so much the Republic of Belarus as the “allied” Poland may suffer from the EU restrictions.

The point is that Brussels is threatening to impose a ban on the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline passing through Belarus. The decision is not entirely clear, since such sanctions will hit Russia more.



However, if our country has options in the form of transit through the Nord Stream and Ukraine, as well as the accelerated completion of the SP-2, then Poland, through which the Yamal-Europe highway also runs, is doing much worse.

Literally next year, Warsaw planned to organize a "virtual reverse" of Russian gas flowing through its territory, and make good money on this. However, now the "ambitious idea" can really become "virtual".

But the troubles of long-suffering Poland do not end there either. This country has a reputation as the main polluter of the European atmosphere, which greatly “irritates” the EU partners and does not fit into the “environmental trend”. That only is the mine "Turov", the closure of which from Warsaw are required by the Czech Republic and the High Court of the EU.

Most of Poland's thermal power plants still run on coal. The closure of the aforementioned mine will not only lead to the reduction of thousands of people, but will also leave 7% of the country without electricity. Switching to gas could solve the energy problem. However, due to possible EU sanctions against the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline, Warsaw will be deprived of the last saving thread, which, apparently, does not interest its partners at all.