Warsaw During his inaugural visit to Warsaw, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) heard from Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki clear criticism of the European political vision of the new federal government. Morawiecki described the plans for a stronger federalization of the EU after the meeting with Scholz on Sunday as “conformity and leveling”. There were also differences with regard to the controversial Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline. Scholz assured Poland of support in the crisis in connection with the refugees on the border with Belarus.
Morawiecki said that in Poland the planned federalization of Europe is understood as “democratic centralism, bureaucratic centralism”. “Harmonization and egalitarianism – these are not good methods of proceeding,” said the Polish head of government. Europe will be strong as “Europe of the home countries”.
The coalition agreement of the SPD, Greens and SPD speaks of the goal of an EU as a federal European state. This met with criticism from the Polish government. Leading representatives of the party had insinuated in the past few days that the new federal government was planning to build a “Fourth Reich”.
Morawiecki also called for the controversial Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 2 to be stopped. The project will increase the Kremlin’s ability to put pressure on the EU and tighten the “political and energetic noose” around Ukraine, he said. Scholz affirmed that Germany will continue to take responsibility for Ukraine’s gas transit business in the future. Ukraine will also be supported in the expansion of renewable energies. Scholz did not respond to Morawiecki’s request to prevent the pipeline from going into operation.
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Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in the meantime in the ZDF “heute journal” that, from her point of view, Nord Stream 2 could not be approved at the moment. The traffic light parties had agreed in the coalition agreement that European energy law applies to energy projects – “and that means that, as things stand at the moment, this pipeline cannot be approved because it does not meet the requirements of European energy law and the security issues are still in place anyway stand, “said the Green politician
The Baltic Sea pipeline from Russia to Germany was completed weeks ago. The Federal Network Agency has until the beginning of January to decide on an operating permit for the pipes, through which up to 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas will be delivered from Russia to Germany annually. Baerbock had spoken out against Nord Stream 2 in the election campaign before the federal election, Scholz has not yet clearly positioned himself.
Further discrepancies over reparations for World War II
The new Chancellor assured Poland of support in the dispute over the refugees in the border area with Belarus. The approach of the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko is “inhuman and we have a common task to reject it,” said Scholz. Germany wants to act in solidarity with Poland against this inappropriate way of a “hybrid warfare”.
“It is really terrible what the Prime Minister of Belarus, Lukashenko, is doing there. He uses people for his political purposes. He abuses her, her fate, her misery, ”said Scholz. That is why sanctions were right, as was the common stance against airlines. The great success of this intervention is visible. It is also a good sign that many of the migrants are on their way back.
Poland’s head of government emphasized that he had spoken to Scholz about the subject of reparations for the damage caused in Poland during the Second World War. “It’s not just about a sea of tears from our mothers, a sea of our fathers’ blood, but also about lost opportunities for normal development, lost freedom, lost democracy and lost independence.”
Scholz underlined Germany’s negative attitude. “We have contracts that are valid and have settled the issues for the past and the compensation payments,” he said. Nevertheless, the federal government continues to feel obliged, also with regard to the moral consequences of the many destructions that Germans have caused in Poland and in many other places around the world. He is therefore happy that a memorial for the Polish victims of the Second World War is now to be built in Berlin.
What was new was that Scholz referred to the German contributions to the EU budget in connection with the reparation claims, from which Poland also benefits. “Otherwise that’s just one more reason that Germany is ready, willing and will continue to be ready and willing to make very, very high contributions to the financing of the budget of the European Union,” he said.
Poland’s national-conservative PiS government repeatedly addresses the reparation claims against Germany. Morawiecki recently announced the establishment of an institute for war damage. It is intended to institutionalize efforts to research all war damage and also deal with the further pursuit of reparation claims. For the federal government, the issue is legally and politically closed. It mainly refers to the Two-Plus-Four Treaty on the Foreign Policy Consequences of German Unity of 1990.
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