Numerous tensions, deepened by Russia’s war with Ukraine, high inflation and the energy crisis, generate our anxiety about the future of the European project. Especially as the proposals that are put forward may actually lead to a greater fragmentation and further “unsealing” of the European Union. This, in turn, can only impede its further development.

An interview with Paweł Jabłoński, Undersecretary of State at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Interviewer: James Jackson.

The anti-European and anti-Teutonic phobias of the ruling party are perilous for Polish interests.

The end of the balance of power in the EU with policies decided by so-called “old Europe” could be one key consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This ongoing shift needs to result in a strategic alliance between Poland and Germany. However, is this possible?

Over 30 years have passed since Germany reunified and signed a pivotal agreement on bilateral affairs with Poland. Meant to signal the start of a new age of co-operation, the treaty’s spirit has nonetheless been challenged by numerous issues both old and new. A renewed agreement is now needed to build a shared future free from the ghosts of the past.

The future of NATO’s nuclear sharing programme in Central and Eastern Europe is closely connected to the political relationship between Washington, Berlin and Warsaw. Dimensions such as geopolitics and infrastructure must also be taken into account.  

Gryfino is a town on Poland's north-western border with Germany. Twice a year it gathers Polish and German runners who cross the border together.

There was once a time in which both Poles and Germans were suspicious of one another. But today mutually beneficial relations prevail in the Pomeranian borderlands, proving that integration is possible and ideal.

Following the First World War, the new border established between Poland and Germany, finally implemented in 1921, stretched from the Upper Silesian Coal Basin all the way to the Baltic Sea. The border, however, remained a primary source of conflict; especially as the political decisions of the Weimar Republic allowed for a revision of the Versailles Treaty. Today it is the focus of a joint Polish-German project.

Only during concerts would he receive applause like this. Ignacy Jan Paderewski, a pianist and composer, arrived in Poznań on December 26th 1918 (18 days after the end of the First World War) and was greeted with much excitement by the Poles. Earlier, he had played a concert at the White House in Washington, DC and met with the US President Woodrow Wilson, whom he tried to convince that an independent Polish state had to be created. It was still yet unclear as to where exactly the borders of this state would lie.

For 25 years, Warsaw and Berlin have shared a ride in the same car, often on rocky and bumpy roads, but mostly agreeing on the route. Since Law and Justice (PiS) took power, Chancellor Angela Merkel has observed the developments from a distance, rarely speaking out, unlike many other European Union officials. Over the past 14 months of PiS’s rule, however, some advancements took on an extreme character, and the Polish-German car seemed to have hit an icy patch with the breaks failing. Chancellor Merkel seems to agree that a longer stay in a garage should be prevented, and paid Poland a flying visit on Tuesday last week.

When we think back to June 1991, we see great value in the treaty between Poland and Germany. It was a new beginning in relations between the two states. Yet, the treaty was more than bilateral, it was also a building bloc in the construction of a new Europe, without which there would be no united Germany, NATO or the European Union. Every time I cross the Polish-German border, which nowadays is merely a formal line, seeing as there are no controls or checkpoints, I feel like a free European. I feel the positive aspect of history and the great decisions that led us here. I write this because as a teenager, I experienced a completely different reality, a continent divided by the iron curtain. Even in the 1990s, a time when Poland was already free and Germany had united, cross-border travel was not as pleasant an experience as it is today, because the Oder and Nysa rivers marked the periphery of the European Union. At that time, we still had to wait at the border and go through border control.

Interview with Hans Gert Pöttering, President of the European Parliament ret. and Chairman of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. Interviewer: Maciej Makulski MACIEJ MAKULSKI: Can we, as Europeans, be proud citizens of the European Union these days? HANS GERT PÖTTERING: I can only give you an answer from my own political experience. When I was elected to the European […]