At the Meeting of the presidents of Poland and Germany in Berlin, highlighted the similarities. The countries of separates but some of it was hard to miss. From Berlin Wojciech Szymanski.
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Duda in Berlin: state visit in difficult times
Actually, the occasion of the visit of the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda in Berlin was 100 years: Poland celebrates the anniversary of the re-attainment of independence. In November 1918, the country reappeared on the map of Europe after 123 years of occupation, among other things, by Prussia and later the German Empire. In June, Federal President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier to visit in Poland, now the Polish President paid him a return visit.
But history played little role in the talks in Berlin. To many of the current issues of burning Warsaw and Berlin on the nails. The dispute with the EU over the development of the rule of law in Poland, the controversial construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas Pipeline, or the Polish debates on demands for reparations for the second world war determined the Agenda.
Especially the Reform of the Polish judiciary, the Commission ousts from the point of view of the EU-the rule of law in Poland, also Germany. Federal President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier said at a joint press conference, the EU is in urgent need of a strong, democratic, Pro-European Poland, the crises in Europe to cope with. Even more clearly his desire was that the Polish government would be. a way of dealing with the decision of the European court of justice can find, the respect, the European case law Only a few days ago, the ECJ issued a preliminary injunction against Poland. The country needs to stop the controversial forced retirement of judges with immediate effect. If Warsaw does, in fact, remains open. Poland should ignore the decision, it would raise the dispute with Brussels, however, to a new level and Polish membership in the European judicial area in question.
A permanent topic of debate: the construction of The Nord Stream Baltic sea Pipeline 2
The Polish President has not missed the opportunity to criticize Germany for the construction of the Nord Stream Baltic sea pipeline 2. The project creates a direct route for Gas imports from Russia to Germany, threatening the security of Central and Eastern European countries in the supply of energy. “We maintain that it is a political and strategic project, not a commercial,” said Duda.
“We have more in common than separates us”
Despite this inconsistency, both of the President’s effort to emphasize the similarities, and the depth of the relationship gave. “We share much more than separates us,” said Steinmeier. Duda said that the cooperation would be a year better.
Uncomfortable it was, however, in the case of a round-table discussion in the framework of the Berlin-at the German-Polish forum. As the President of Poland by a German journalist asked to the restriction of the freedom of public service media in Poland, replied the politician with a harsh remark about the work of the German media: “Would be raped in Poland, women would inform the Polish media about it immediately and in detail,” he said in a clear reference to the incidents in Cologne in the new year’s eve 2015/16 and the lack of reporting in the following days.
Also the tone towards the EU was a little rough. Poland wanted to get positions of other, larger States imposed on said Duda: “We do not want to be vassals.”
Andrzej Duda (l.) and Frank-Walter Steinmeier – United and yet not agree
Cooling in the East
The political relations between Germany and Poland are considered to be closely, but have lost after the change of government in Warsaw in the autumn of 2015 a lot of heat. The conservative PiS party left Berlin in the attempt to spread refugees in Europe, the brush-off and made Poland one of the biggest opponents of the migration policy of Angela Merkel. Despite all the criticism from Brussels, the Polish government is pushing ahead with the highly controversial reform of the judiciary. The public service media, which are under the control of the PiS, Stoke anti-German resentment.
The political tensions do not seem to harm the economic cooperation between the two countries. With more than 110 billion euros in sales, Poland is the seventh largest trading partner of Germany, and the trend is rising. And the results of the last Polish-German barometer show that the sympathy of the values on both sides to remain stable – in Poland they are increased even slightly.