Acron, owned by Kantor, tried to take control of Zakłady Azotowe in Tarnów. The plan was simple – to buy as many shares as possible in the company controlled by the Polish state for a fairly high price. Tusk’s government knew these intentions. And he could not agree to it, especially since Azoty is one of the largest gas consumers in Poland.
The Russians lost, but they prepared well for the operation itself. They rented Dom Maklerski BZ WBK for its needs. He was a member of the company’s supervisory board then Mateusz Morawiecki, who at the same time headed the BZ WBK bank. It was also the last year of his presence in the Economic Council under Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
He became its member in 2010 – the same year when Waldemar Pawlak, then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, signed a 12-year contract for gas supplies from Russia. This transaction is to be one of the subjects of interest of the special commission, whose appointment was announced yesterday by Jarosław Kaczyński. He was accompanied by Mateusz Morawiecki.
It is doubtful that the current prime minister will stand before the commission, although theoretically the body is supposed to examine activities in the energy sector in the years 2007-2022. It remains to be seen, because the bill on the commission is yet to be submitted to the Sejm.
During the press conference, Jarosław Kaczyński stated that the commission’s interest would end in 2015. Later, the PiS press office corrected the statement on Twitter, convincing that the government’s recent actions would also be scrutinized by reviewers.
Perhaps, however, the president of PiS by “mistake” revealed the true intention, which is to simply prosecute, or at least interrogate Donald Tusk just before the elections. However, Jarosław Kaczyński does not want the investigative commission to deal with this.
It’s supposed to be a model the reprivatization verification commission, which is still functioning, although it no longer attracts attention media. It is currently headed by Deputy Minister of Justice Sebastian Kaleta, but originally Patryk Jaki was the head. The commission itself was supposed to give him fuel before the battle for the presidency in Warsaw.
Members of the Sejm investigative committee may only be deputies who, by law, have appropriate certificates of access to classified information.
Meanwhile, the verification committee may also include persons from outside the parliament, who have yet to obtain such a certificate. And this is a process that takes quite a long time, because the powers are granted by the Internal Security Agency, which checks all aspects of the candidate’s life to obtain a certificate. This may indicate that PiS is getting ready to play the topic.
Especially since the Act on the Investigation Committee simply exists and works, and the Act on the Verification Committee will have to go through parliamentary mills.
And while it can go smoothly in the Sejm, where PiS has a majority, the Senate controlled by the opposition will certainly hold the bill for as long as possible, i.e. a maximum of a month. Slightly counting, the possible start of its work is the first weeks of 2023.
The rest of the text is below the video.
If Donald Tusk had appeared on the committee, he would certainly have gladly said that he fired him in 2013. the Minister of Treasury and the head of PGNiG for signing a memorandum with Gazprom for the construction of a branch of the Yamal gas pipeline bypassing Ukraine.
He would probably also remind that during the rule of PO a gas terminal was built in Świnoujście, which brought Poland closer to independence from Russian gas. Law and Justice failed to expand it for seven years.
PiS prefers to focus on the fact that in 2010 the PO government canceled PLN 1.2 billion of debt for the transfer of gas to the Russian gas giant. The ruling camp also wants to use statements such as Waldemar Pawlak, former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy on behalf of PSLwho until recently argued that the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline from Norway is unnecessary, because Poland can import gas from Germany.
There is no doubt that both Pawlak and Tusk would be among the main witnesses before such a commission. After all, the head of the PO has already appeared in such a role in recent years. He was interrogated before investigative committees established on the initiative of PiS. At that time, the ruling camp saw the sense in establishing such bodies.
Today, however, Jarosław Kaczyński believes that the achievements of investigative committees are poor, which is why he prefers a verification committee. It is doubtful that after the possible commencement of work, the commission will manage to – or would like to manage – reach the present times.
And there would be a lot to pursue. For example, the issue of the merger of Lotos with Orlen, which resulted in the sale of 400 Lotos stations to the Hungarian MOL. Controlled by Viktor Orban’s people, the concern is known for its close ties with the Russians.
The effect of the merger is also the sale of 30 percent. refinery in Gdańsk, which is to be sold to the Saudi oil giant Saudi Aramco. The president of Orlen, Daniel Obajtek, recently explained it in the following way: – The Saudi partner is not interested in political matters in the region, but in business. And we are interested in independence and business.
But that’s not entirely true. The refinery is a serious asset that can be a bargaining chip in various puzzles.
After the Russian aggression against Ukraine, Saudi Arabia is playing a complicated game with the West. Riyadh, in agreement with the Kremlin, decided to reduce oil production, which resulted in an increase in the prices of this raw material on world markets.
Saudis Thus, they openly opposed the Americans who, faced with the energy crisis accelerating in the winter and spring, called for exactly the opposite move. In addition, this Arab country doubled imports from Russia in the summer, including fuel oil.
Earlier, a company belonging to the Saudi Aramco built a connector of the Russian Turk Stream gas pipeline from Hungary to Austria, operated by … MOL – the same one that buys 400 Lotos stations.