Czech and Polish governments discussed cooperation in energy, transport and support for Ukraine in Katowice

On Thursday, 20 July 2023, a joint meeting of the representatives of the Czech and Polish governments took place in Katowice, Poland. At the already eighth intergovernmental consultations, the Cabinets, headed by Prime Ministers Petr Fiala and Mateusz Morawiecki, discussed the deepening of cross-border cooperation and collaboration in the energy and transport sectors and support for Ukraine, with an emphasis on military aid and reconstruction of the country. The last joint meeting of the governments of the Czech Republic and Poland took place on 3 June 2022 in Prague.

The Czech Prime Minister stressed that he valued the tradition of joint negotiations, which was proof of the strong relations and rich cooperation between the two countries. Today's talks have given impetus to the deepening and further development of this cooperation in a number of areas and confirmed that our countries are not only good neighbours but also partners in the European Union and NATO.

An important point of the joint meeting was the strengthening of cooperation in the energy sector. “We talked about specific projects, about the construction of the STORK II direct gas interconnection, which will contribute to the diversification of routes and sources of natural gas supplies to the Czech Republic. This is an important strategic project for us.  We also discussed possible cooperation and, above all, the continuation of sharing experience in the development of nuclear energy, especially in the process of building new blocks,” said Prime Minister Fiala. Both our countries are also interested in the technology of small modular reactors and sharing experience with this nuclear technology is mutually beneficial.

The representatives of the Czech and Polish governments also discussed the completion of the D11/S3 motorway link, which is one of the most important cross-border transport infrastructure projects between the Czech Republic and Poland. On the Czech side, the construction of the border section is planned for 2025 and the motorway should be complete in 2028.

On the current European agenda, the Prime Ministers discussed, among other things, the preparation of the Euro 7 standard. The Czech Republic and Poland are members of a group of like-minded countries that calls for adjustments to the current proposal to reflect the current technical possibilities and thus not endanger our automotive industry. Another important topic discussed was migration and additional EU financial support for the countries most affected by the refugee wave from Ukraine. “We need to work together to ensure that the solidarity that is often talked about in the EU also applies to us. To make other European countries and EU institutions aware of our situation, and to get more help than we have been getting. It was also confirmed once again that we have very close positions when it comes to efforts to stop irregular migration to Europe,” added the Czech Prime Minister.

The war in Ukraine was also an important topic of the cabinet meeting. Russia continues to destroy the infrastructure for grain exports from Ukraine, has withdrawn from the grain agreement and is once again threatening the food security of the world, particularly countries in Africa and the Middle East. “We need to respond to this situation and we need to allow the so-called solidarity corridors to be cleared as quickly as possible and to allow grain to be transported to other countries outside the EU. We also talked about defence, we agreed on the need to develop our military capabilities and the European defence industry so that we will be able to continue to support Ukraine effectively and also to jointly increase Europe's defence capabilities,” said Prime Minister Fiala.