Government consultations - Berlin and Warsaw want to set an example of reconciliation
Breathing space in tight household negotiations: Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) traveled to Warsaw with twelve of his Federal and State ministers on a late Monday evening to give the relationship with the neighboring country a new push. The first German-Polish government consultations since almost six years are scheduled to take place on Tuesday morning.
During the overall three-hour consultations led by Scholz and Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a action plan is supposed to be decided upon, which should contain compensation payments for still living Polish victims of Nazi-Germany's occupation as well as German aid for the defense of NATO's eastern flank. According to a report in the "Süddeutsche Zeitung", the financial aid could amount to the three-digit million range.
Compensation payments could open the door for further demands
However, the compensation payments were still a subject of contention up until the last minute. This is a sensitive issue because it could potentially open the door for demands from other countries. For example, there are still demands for compensation from Greece almost 80 years after the end of the Second World War for damages caused by Nazi-Germany.
Today, around 40,000 people still live in Poland who were once victims of the German occupiers, as Agnieszka Lada-Konefal from the German-Polish Institute in Darmstadt explains. Some of them had participated in the Polish resistance as children or adolescents. "It would be symbolically and practically important for these old, sick people to receive support."
Money from the financial package is also supposed to flow into the construction of the German-Polish House in Berlin. The house is intended to remind of the complex German-Polish history and the brutal German occupation during the Second World War (1939-1945) and create a place of remembrance for the Polish victims. The cabinet adopted a concept for how the documentation center should be set up in the past week.
The antideutsche attitude of the PiS government ruined the relationship
Poland has long been demanding reparations for the damages caused by the Second World War and the occupation. The national-conservative PiS government, which ruled the country from 2015 to 2023, demanded reparations from Germany in excess of 1.3 billion Euros. This and the constant anti-German propaganda from leading PiS representatives ruined the bilateral relationship in recent years.
The relationship is now significantly better under the since December ruling center-left government of Donald Tusk. However, Tusk also emphasized during his visit to Berlin in February: "Formally, the reparations were already settled long ago. But the material and moral compensation was never implemented." A settlement of accounts is necessary, one must look for possibilities of cooperation without burdening the mutual relationships.
A good relationship with Poland is becoming increasingly important.
Since the government change in Poland, the so-called Weimar Triangle format between Poland, Germany, and France has been filled with new life once again. However, in France, there is a threat of a power takeover by the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) of Marine Le Pen, which showed its strength in the first round of voting. Such a shift could weaken the Berlin-Paris axis - all the more important would it be from a German perspective to have good relations with Poland.
"There is a chance that German-Polish relations will become even more active," says expert Lada-Konefal. However, the German government must take note that Poland has become much stronger and more self-confident - also through its role as a front state in the Ukraine war and an important ally of Kiev. Tusk also keeps a much greater distance from Berlin than was the case in his first term from 2007 to 2014. "The days are over when Germany presents every proposal and the Poles clap."
Scholz and Co. back in Berlin by the afternoon
Consultations also involve Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck of the Greens and Finance Minister Christian Lindner of the FDP, who have been fighting with Scholz over a budget plan for 2025 for weeks. They travel back to Berlin with the other cabinet members in the afternoon to report to the parliamentary factions on the status of the negotiations. An result is expected by the end of the week.
- The PiS government, which ruled Poland from 2015 to 2023, demanded excessive reparations from Germany, which contributed to the strain in relations.
- Take a breather was necessary for Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his ministers before the crucial government consultations with Poland.
- The German aid for NATO's eastern flank is a key issue in the government consultation between Germany and Poland.
- Olaf Scholz and his ministers traveled to Warsaw to improve the relationship with the neighboring country, following a four-year hiatus since the last meetings.
- In Greece, there are still ongoing demands for compensation from the Second World War for the damages caused by Nazi-Germany.
- The PiS government's antideutsche attitude and constant anti-German propaganda hurt the bilateral relationships during its tenure.
- Financial assistance from the package will also be allocated towards constructing the German-Polish House in Berlin, a symbol of historical reconciliation.
- The Nato alliance is increasingly dependent on strong relationships with its member countries, like Poland, in light of uncertain geopolitical events.
- According to SZ, the financial aid for Poland could amount to hundreds of millions of Euros, prompting potential requests from other nations.
- During Brexit negotiations, former Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk served as a key figure, highlighting the importance of maintaining good diplomatic relations.
