Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Photo by EPA/BGNES
Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk reiterated his visions for a European energy union to deal with the continent's dependency on Russian supplies.
"Regardless of how the stand-off over Ukraine develops, one lesson is clear: excessive dependence on Russian energy makes Europe weak. I therefore propose an energy union. It will return the European Community to its roots", Tusk wrote in an article for the Financial Times.
The Polish Premier believes the energy union should operate on the principle of "solidarity" when any of its members are threatened by the cutting of gas supplies.
"Today, at least 10 EU member states depend on a single supplier - Gazprom - for more than half of their consumption. Some are wholly dependent on Russia's state-controlled gas giant. In the EU's eastern states, Poland among them, coal is synonymous with energy security. No nation should be forced to extract minerals but none should be prevented from doing so - as long as it is done in a sustainable way", Tusk added.