The Wednesday discussions were already the 14th meeting of the delegations of both states held in this formula. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sánchez signed the declaration, in which they expressed their commitment to build closer ties between Poland and Spain and enhance and intensify the cooperation in various areas of common interest.

In the existing geopolitical situation, the energy security has become the priority when making the decisions concerning the energy issues. The stability of supplies and energy prices as well as costs for the consumers are of pivotal importance

– said the Minister of Economic Development and Technology Waldemar Buda during the meeting with Reyes Maroto.

Poland and Spain share common priorities in the area of energy transformation i.e. increasing the import of LNG and development of auxiliary infrastructure, followed by expanding the share of renewable energy sources in the national energy mix.

Diversification and strengthening the resilience of the EU supply chains

The lack of global security stemming from the Russian military invasion in Ukraine and the resulting need to strengthen the resilience of supply chains was one of the leitmotivs of discussion between Minister Buda and Minister Maroto.

The increased resilience of supply chains is achievable by building on national and European resources to a greater extent as well as diversification of sources of the critical resources. The way towards this goal passes through strategic partnerships with various countries and recycling and establishing new business relationships

– pointed out Minister Buda.

The Head of MEDT stressed that the plan of moving away from the Russian hydrocarbons under the RePowerEU initiative (the EU strategy for solar energy) is a good starting point. Poland will be capable of gaining independence from the Russian gas supplies as early as this year. The investment in Baltic Pipe construction will enable transport of natural gas from Norway.

Minister Buda informed that Poland intends to reach 50% of share of capacity from the renewable energy sources in 2040. Minister Reyes shared her experiences with RES, including the obligation to place photovoltaic installations on the newly-constructed buildings.

Industrial policy and EU Single Market

The discussions covered also the impact of crises on the industrial policy. Minister Buda pointed out that locating the production of assets in the states of widely understood West, representing a major determinant for access to the advanced technologies, including semiconductors, becomes a strategic issue. In this context, he pointed out at the pending negotiations on the act on chips. The Minister emphasized also the need to enhance the capacity of the economies to manufacture drugs and medical devices in crisis situations.

The Head of MEDT informed that Poland has been actively participating in the IPCEI (Important Projects of Common European Interest) projects contributing to the establishment of the EU value chains in the sectors necessary for development of the advanced economy. Our country commits to the IPCEI projects in the areas of batteries, micro-electronics, hydrogen, health, cloud technologies and photovoltaics.

Polish-Spanish economic cooperation

Minister Buda emphasized that development of the Polish-Spanish cooperation provides the opportunities for boosting our economies, their competitiveness and sustainable development. – We are ready to cooperate in all areas of key importance for transformation, such as ditigisation of industry, impact of climate change regulations on the competitiveness, industrial research and innovation as well as smart technologies – he declared.

2021 was a record year in terms of trade volume between Poland and Spain. It amounted to nearly 13.4 billion euros and thus increased by 19.5%. The positive balance in favour of Poland amounted to approx. 991 billion euros in 2021.

The Minister noted that just energy transformation is the Poland’s priority. During the meeting, the ministers discussed the increasing of LNG import. Spain has become a major distribution centre of the imported LNG from the United States for the EU as a whole in effect of its geographical location and investments in regasification stations.

Minister Buda informed that in context of expanding the LNG infrastructure Poland intends to construct a second floating storage regasification unit (FSRU). In addition, under the works on the National Recovery Plan, the MEDT proposed the programme of renewable energy sources installation by the energy communities with particular focus on the role of local government.