Polish President vetoes Bill to ease rules on building wind farms

Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, vetoed on Thursday a bill that would have eased rules for onshore wind farm construction. He said that the government's decision to combine it with a price freeze on energy was "blackmail".

The accusation is a new salvo in the battle against the centre-right government of Donald Tusk. He is an arch rival to the allies of the president in the nationalist Law and Justice party (PiS).

It would have reduced the distance between residential areas and planned installations, but kept permitting restrictions for projects near protected natural areas. The bill included incentives for homeowners and municipalities in areas near new wind farms.

The bill also contained a clause which would have frozen the energy prices of households until the year's end.

Nawrocki who is against easing wind farm regulations, but in favor of a freeze on energy prices, objects to both elements being combined into one bill.

Nawrocki said at a press conference that he had "unambiguously decided to veto" one bill.

He said that "the wind farm bill... is a blackmailing tactic by the majority of parliament and the government not only against President of the Republic of Poland but also against the society."

Nawrocki announced that he would introduce a new law which would duplicate the section on price freezing of the legislation that was vetoed, while dropping the elements related to wind farms.

Milosz Motyka, the Energy Minister of Poland, responded to the veto by writing on X about how Poland must unlock "the potential provided by cheap energy resources."

He wrote: "President Nawrocki’s veto on the law guaranteeing lower energy prices is a major blow to Polish families and industry. It also threatens energy security for the country as a whole, along with the economy."

(source: Reuters)