Germany and Poland plan closer cooperation despite recent election
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and his Polish counterpart Radosław Sikorski plan to advance cooperation between their two countries despite the victory of eurosceptic Karol Nawrocki in the Polish presidential election.
"I assume that we will continue to work together very closely and amicably," Wadephul said on Wednesday during a meeting with Sikorski in Berlin.
"Our ties are so strong that democratic elections here or there do not call them into question in any way."
The cooperation also applies to France within the Weimar Triangle, for example in coordinating support for Ukraine, Wadephul said. The trilateral group, established in 1991, includes France, Germany and Poland, and is designed to promote cooperation among the three.
Nawrocki, who was backed by the conservative nationalist Law and Justice party (PiS), had campaigned with anti-German and anti-European rhetoric.
But Wadephul said the German-Polish partnership is so close and solid that he has no doubts that joint future and defence projects could be realized. Poland, he said, had held democratic elections. Germans and Poles are friends, "and we want to continue that," the German foreign minister added.
Sikorski: Government controls foreign policy
Sikorski described it as a sign of democracy that a representative of the opposition had won the presidential election in Poland. Similar to Germany, the president in Poland is not the head of government but a representative of the country abroad. He implements the policies set by the government.
While the Polish president has more powers than the German president, including a veto right, "foreign policy is the responsibility of the government," Sikorski said.
Wadephul: Defence and infrastructure are key topics
Wadephul highlighted European air defence as a security guarantee for citizens and the advancement of European defence cooperation as key areas for expanding collaboration. This, he said, requires "concrete projects, industrial partnerships and political will that does not stop at national borders."
A resilient Europe, he added, also requires efficient infrastructure. Roads, railways and bridges are "not just transport routes but lifelines for our security, including between Germany and Poland." At the same time, these investments would tangibly improve the daily lives of people in Poland, Germany and across Europe, he said.
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