Press conference at Lubmin

Polish Member of the European Parliament Grzegorz Braun appeared on 7 October 2026 at the Nord Stream gas distribution facility in Lubmin, Germany, alongside representatives from Alternative for Germany. Braun, who leads the Confederation of the Polish Crown, was accompanied by Polish member of parliament Roman Fritz and German federal lawmaker Steffen Kotré. Standing before the Baltic gas pipeline infrastructure, the politicians called for the restoration and reopening of both Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2. Braun argued that natural gas transit represents a business issue rather than a political dispute and urged Poland to participate directly in the infrastructure. He asserted that Warsaw would suffer economic losses if fuel deliveries to Western Europe permanently bypass Polish territory. He also expressed hope for a day when politicians could paraphrase Apocalypse Now by declaring their affection for the smell of Russian gas in the morning.

“Not only do we not want to boycott, we want to take part. We want to become bidders for this magnificent project.”

Pipeline status and past opposition

Russia halted gas deliveries through the offshore pipeline system on 31 August 2022, shortly before explosions damaged three of its four Baltic seabed lines in September 2022. One remaining line of Nord Stream 2, which has an annual capacity of 27.5 billion cubic meters, remains structurally intact but has never entered commercial operation. Braun's appearance in Lubmin coincided with Vladimir Putin's birthday on 7 October and marked a reversal of his previous public stance on the project. In recorded remarks from 2015, Braun had condemned Nord Stream as a second Ribbentrop-Molotov pact that relegated Poland to a geopolitical grey zone. At the Lubmin terminal, Kotré criticized the German federal government for failing to establish blame for the underwater sabotage, while Braun proposed restarting trilateral diplomatic contacts among Warsaw, Berlin, and Moscow.

Condemnation from the Polish government

Polish Energy Minister Miłosz Motyka publicly rejected Braun's statements on 8 October 2026, describing support for the pipeline as incompatible with national security. Motyka stated on social media that backing Nord Stream aligns with Moscow's political objectives and disqualifies Braun from claiming patriotic credentials.

“There is no project more contrary to Poland's energy interests and our raison d'etat than Nord Stream.”

Former Minister of State Assets Jacek Sasin from Law and Justice also censured the Lubmin appearance, noting that Nord Stream historically sought to bypass Poland and foster European energy dependence on the Kremlin. Stanisław Żaryn, a former advisor to Polish President Andrzej Duda, stated that Braun's party is advancing Russian interests across Europe by lobbying for Nord Stream and the Yamal pipeline while urging the removal of American forces from Poland.

Family rebuke and domestic tensions

The controversy widened into Braun's personal and political circles on 8 October 2026. Michał Braun, the politician's cousin and director of the National Freedom Institute, addressed the Lubmin appearance during a television broadcast on TVN24. He stated that the Confederation leader has lost perspective through political extremism and noted that no ancestral members of their family would support Moscow.

“None of our grandfathers, no one in our family would simply support Russia, because de facto Grzegorz Braun's narrative today is this: there must be peace at any cost, even if that cost is leaving the European Union and hugging Putin.”

Michał Braun warned that political parties organized solely around an individual figure eventually collapse, suggesting that the Lubmin appearance could accelerate internal erosion within the Confederation. The controversy follows the recent release of April audio recordings by PRZEkanał in which Confederation of the Polish Crown figures discussed Asian ties, prompting Warsaw University of Technology professor Jacek Janowski to question party initiatives involving Indian migration.