Poland, Denmark talk energy security ahead of Lahti

Oct 19, 2006, 10:48 GMT

Warsaw - Energy security topped the agenda of Thursday talks in Warsaw between the Polish and Danish prime ministers ahead of the European Union's informal meeting of heads of state and government in Lahti, Finland.

'Energy security is one of the main issues at the summit,' Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters in Warsaw after talks with Premier Jaroslaw Kaczynski a day before the EU parley.

The EU should focus energy policy on reducing dependence on fossil imports, set 'ambitious goals' for developing renewable energy sources, boosting energy conservation, develop its electricity grid and investing in research and development of new energy technologies, Rasmussen said.

He also underscored it was of the 'utmost importance' for the 25 member EU to speak with 'one voice' on energy policy.

Poland's Kaczynski warned the EU had to adopt policies to prevent what he termed the use of the 'energy weapon' against its members.

EU newcomer Poland is pushing a proposal for an energy security pact among EU states similar to NATO's 'one for all and all for one' strategy.

The idea was formulated on the heels of a temporary cut in Russian natural gas supplies to several EU states last winter. Gas shortages in Russia and contract dispute with Ukraine were among the reasons behind the cut.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso also addressed the issue of energy security with Premier Kaczynski during his visit to Warsaw last Friday.

Kaczynski and Rasmussen also focused on the 'hot' issue of the beleaguered draft European constitution.

Rasmussen voiced Denmark's support for the draft treaty torpedoed in separate referenda in France and The Netherlands. Kaczynski said any EU constitution should both increase the internal stability of the EU and empower the bloc on the world stage.

Rasmussen also stressed the principles of 'co-operation and compromise' lay at the foundations of the 25 member EU.

The Danish prime minister was on a whirl-wind visit to Warsaw Thursday for brief talks with Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski and his identical twin brother President Lech Kaczynski in prepartation for the EU's informal Lahti summit.