Poland's Foreign Minister Sikorski attacks EU Green Deal referendum proposal

Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski condemned President Karol Nawrocki’s call for a national referendum on the European Union’s Green Deal, calling it a form of “Euro‑fobia” that treats the EU as a set of privileges without obligations. Sikorski said the proposed question – “Are you in favour of Poland implementing the EU climate policy?” – was selective and ignored both the benefits and duties of EU membership. He highlighted the high electricity costs Polish firms face under the EU Emissions Trading System, citing figures of €252 per MWh compared with lower rates in Germany, France and Spain, and urged that climate targets be negotiated rather than confronted.

Sikorski also mocked Education Minister Przemysław Czarnek’s longstanding opposition to EU climate measures, sarcastically referring to Czarnek’s imagined “Kołtuński paradise on earth” and ridiculing his claim that Poland can rely on cheap coal while he himself has installed photovoltaic panels at home. The minister’s remarks framed the referendum debate as a political stunt rather than a substantive policy discussion.