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In view of the many disputes between Germany and Poland, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier summoned the friendship of both countries.
"We are much more connected than separated," he told Berlin at a joint press conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda. Poland is an important ally. However, both presidents also clearly pointed out the differences.
Steinmeier said Germany shared the concerns of the European Commission regarding judicial reform in Poland. And he also hopes that Warsaw will respect and enforce the temporary injunction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), according to which the mandatory retirement of high-ranking judges should be immediately lifted and reversed. The Polish president first said that the verdict had arrived in Poland on Friday. We will now develop a reaction within the time limit.
During an afternoon debate on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Poland's independence, Duda then reiterated the controversial judicial reform with deep popular dissatisfaction over the bad functioning of the judicial system. In addition, it should result in a generational change, as many of the current supreme judges were active in the communist era.
For its part, Duda reiterated Poland's criticism of the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from the Baltic Sea, from Russia to Germany, via the Baltic Sea. The project "should not be realized," he said, adding that the pipeline was preventing a secure energy supply for the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. He expects more support for the Polish position here in the EU. It is not just an economic project, but also a strategic project.
With respect to liquefied natural gas from the United States, Steinmeier said that the purchase of German liquefied gas in Germany was not a political but economic decision. Duda argued that this too was not just an economic decision, but a strategic political decision.
The US threat to end the INF disarmament agreement with Russia has called Duda an understandable response from US President Donald Trump to Russia's persistent violations of the deal. The Polish government has not yet discussed the possibility of deploying medium range US missiles in Poland if the agreement is terminated.
Steinmeier made it clear to Duda that Germany and the whole of the EU urgently needed "a strong, democratic and pro-European Poland". He however called on the EU to put cooperation in the Union on a footing of equality and equality. Poland does not want to be forced on the positions of other big states. It is about mutual respect and mutual respect. Steinmeier said during the panel discussion at the Federal Foreign Office that one could not only consider oneself a victim of European decisions. Because everyone is involved in central decisions.
Duda rejected statements that the Warsaw government was hostile to the EU. However, he sees "democracy deficits in the EU". The British had given up because they did not want to be driven by the European Commission. Steinmeier retorted in the debate that the EU was not a possessive power "coming to us". It is rather one of the few confederations in which all members have the same voting rights.
Duda avoided the question of whether representatives of Germany were invited to the commemorative events of the beginning of the Second World War on September 1, 2019 in Poland. Eighty years ago, the German Wehrmacht invaded Poland and started the war.
In the late afternoon, Duda also met German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The content of the meeting was not known at the beginning. In the evening, there was a concert on the tour plan for the 100th anniversary of the independence of Poland.
(By Ruppert Mayr, dpa)
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