German ambassador in Poland calls for reset in ties

WARSAW

Asked if “champagne corks had popped in Berlin” on news of an apparent opposition election victory in Poland, the German ambassador to Warsaw on Monday told local media: "Like before the elections, Germany wants to cooperate closely with its Polish friends to face common challenges for the good of Europe. And this is completely independent of the election results.”

“Europe and Germany need a strong Poland,” Viktor Elbing added, speaking to Polish daily Rzeczpospolita.

Since 2015, under Poland’s Law and Justice (PiS) party rule, ties between Warsaw and Berlin have deteriorated. In October’s parliamentary election, the PiS targeted Donald Tusk, leader of the opposition Civic Platform (PO), as a figure it said was beholden to Germany – and the EU by extension. The European Commission has blocked €35 billion ($38 billion) of payments to Warsaw from the EU’s COVID-19 recovery fund due to judicial changes in the country it claims are against the spirit of the rule of law.

Though the PiS got more votes than any single party, a coalition headed by Tusk won the election on Oct. 15 and is set to form a new government in the coming weeks.

Under the PiS, Warsaw has been also seeking €1.3 trillion in reparations from Germany for the Nazi occupation, and the PiS’ preference for a federation of EU nation-states also collides with Berlin’s push for a deeper EU.

For many Poles, it will take a long time for Berlin to live down its decision to build the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, carrying Russian gas, after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

Speaking about future Polish-German relations, the ambassador said Poland and Germany must jointly take responsibility for Ukraine, the future of the EU, and NATO security.

“The nature of the relationship will be shaped based on shared tasks, not the past. I would like to mention one thing: when it comes to Russia, we and others have listened too little to Poland and our Central European neighbors, regardless of which party the government belonged to. This is the past. We will discuss decisions regarding the future closely with our Polish friends,” he added.