Poland and Germany resetting relations after a decade of misunderstandings

WARSAW

Poland and Germany are “resetting” relations after a decade of mutual misunderstandings, new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Wednesday at a press conference in Warsaw.

“With full responsibility, I announce a new opening in Polish-German relations, perhaps the most important in the history of the last dozen or so years,” said Tusk.

Merz, elected by the Bundestag on Tuesday, was visiting Warsaw. Earlier in the day, he visited France and met with President Emmanuel Macron.

“We have a real chance to strengthen Polish-German relations in such a way that they serve Poland, Germany and Europe in the best possible way,” said Tusk.

The Weimar Triangle of cooperation between France, Germany and Poland has fallen by the wayside somewhat in recent years.

Tusk addressed Merz, saying he knows the views of the German chancellor very well and his attitude towards Polish-German relations and Europe.

“I know enough to be optimistic today about the future of our relations,” he added.

Merz's gesture of visiting Paris and then Warsaw on his first day in office "shows very clearly how important Polish-German relations are for the future of Europe and -- this means in a sense that it is also for the future of the world --- how important a strong Europe is,” said Tusk.

The list of priority topics in Polish-German relations includes the security of Poland's eastern border, which is the border of the European Union.

“We have invested billions of zlotys in infrastructure that allows for increased security in the event of aggression from our eastern neighbor,” said Tusk.

He stressed that protecting Poland's border with Belarus and Russia should be a joint task of the EU.

“We talked about the issue of migration. This topic raises justified emotions and fears, and also affects the political fate of the whole of Europe. I am very pleased that we are looking for solutions together. Our concern should be to strengthen and maintain Schengen,” said Tusk.

Under his predecessor in Berlin, Germany threatened to suspend the open borders Schengen Treaty, arousing hostility in Tusk’s center-right Civic Platform (PO) party, which rules in a three-way coalition.

The German Chancellery and the Foreign Ministry will be run by the same party after a long disalignment, giving greater coherence to Berlin’s foreign policy and – Warsaw hopes -- impetus to bolster Europe’s eastern security.

Merz told state broadcaster ZDF late Tuesday that he would also speak with Macron and Tusk about adopting a tougher European migration policy.

The incoming German coalition has agreed to reject asylum seekers at Germany's land borders, adding to grievances Poland’s main nationalist opposition party, Law and Justice (PiS), will likely seek to exploit ahead of the presidential election on May 18.

Paris and Berlin will also accelerate joint programs to develop new defense capabilities that go beyond combat tanks and long-range missiles, Macron said.

France proposed European strategic autonomy and common defense due to the unreliability of the US under President Donald Trump. Tusk is also reportedly expected to sign a treaty with Macron on Friday.

The new German chancellor has promised a tougher Ukraine policy and new defense investments. In his speech in Paris, he announced that talks with France and the UK on the issue of nuclear deterrence on the European continent are necessary.

When in office until late 2023, PiS exploited residual anti-German sentiment in Poland after WWII occupation and demanded $1.3 trillion in compensation, which Berlin rejected out of hand.

“Germany will never forget the millions of victims of the occupation of Poland,” said Merz.

He emphasized that there can be no building of the future without remembering the past. He announced the construction of a permanent monument to the victims in Berlin, and in the near future, the erection of a temporary monument.