German Government’s Polish Envoy Highlights Poland’s Growing Influence in Europe and Calls for Improved German-Polish Relations
The German government’s Polish envoy, Dietmar Nietan (SPD), has emphasized Poland’s growing influence in Europe and called for an improvement in German-Polish relations ahead of Poland’s EU presidency from the start of next year. Poland’s influence in the EU has significantly increased, he told the Funke Media Group’s newspapers (Tuesday editions).
“Because Germany and France are currently not fully operational on the European level for different reasons, it’s now very strong on the part of the major and medium-sized EU states that Poland is stepping in” he added.
The EU presidency, the first in the new term of US President Donald Trump, will be “hopefully very important and notable” and deserves the full support of the German government, the envoy said. “Defense and security have top priority for Poland – Europe and Germany can no longer hide behind the Americans. Poland wants to steer the EU in the right direction” the SPD politician stated.
Nietan described the German-Polish relations as “better than a year ago, but still improvable.” There is frustration on the Polish side regarding the relations. “The government in Warsaw was very pleased with the initial German signals for stronger cooperation, but the hopes were disappointed: A security package and a humanitarian gesture from Germany for the last surviving victims of the Nazi regime has not yet come to pass.”
Now, Tusk is demonstrating before the crucial presidential elections in Poland in May that it can also work without the Germans. Nothing much is expected to move in the relations until then. But after the elections, there could be German-Polish government consultations. “Then a big deal, for example, in security policy might be possible.