WSJ: Poland to Protect Some Firms from Takeovers, Competition

Poland will protect some companies and sectors of the economy, like energy and chemical industries, from takeovers and competition because Russia often uses natural gas as a political weapon, Poland’s prime minister said Tuesday.

“I don’t know of cases in which we’d restrict Russians from doing business in Poland,” Donald Tusk told a press conference. “There are some restricted areas, but it’s not specifically about Russia. Poland in some matters wants to take special care of the national interest.”

“The energy, fuel, and chemical sectors belong to the more protected areas–it’s related to the way our eastern neighbor conducts its natural gas policy. If in the center of Europe we didn’t know how often gas is a political weapon in Russia’s hands, we wouldn’t be as sensitive as we are about the security of our energy sector. Russians know that it’s out of the question. We will protect a few sectors and a few companies from takeovers and risky competition,” he said.  MORE