In its first reading, the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs rejected the PiS draft resolution on continued activities related to obtaining reparations from Germany. Deputy Foreign Minister Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski emphasized that compensation is owed to Poland, but the question is what form it should take. He forgot to add that for years we have been hearing discussions about the form of compensation from politicians of the current ruling camp, and when the PiS government raised this topic, it was constantly attacked by the then opposition, the power changed in Poland On December 13, 2023, the new government had already had several meetings with the German authorities, and still no details.
At the end of December last year, PiS MP Arkadiusz Mularczyk announced that he would submit a draft resolution of the Sejm calling on the Prime Minister and other members of the Council of Ministers “regarding Poland’s pursuit of reparations, compensation and compensation for losses caused by Germany during World War II.”
The Sejm Foreign Affairs Committee met on Thursday to hold the first reading of the bill. KO MP Marek Krząkała filed a motion to reject the project. 16 committee members voted in favor and 9 against.
Bartoszewski: The government is not stopping its efforts
During the committee meeting, Deputy Foreign Minister Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski commented critically on the draft resolution prepared by PiS. He recalled that in September 2022, the Sejm adopted a resolution on Poland asking for compensation for the damage caused by Germany during the Second World War, which was supported by 418 parliamentarians.
The problem with the text we see today is very simple: another Sejm resolution is being adopted, which in my opinion is significantly worse than the one we adopted on September 14, 2022 (…) I consider it a failed initiative because it weakens the meaning, message and importance of the previous one (resolution – PAP)
– said Bartoszewski.
He added that in the draft resolution PiS unnecessarily “confuses” the issue of compensation that Poland is morally entitled to with “there are no doubts here” – with the issue of building a monument in Berlin to commemorate the Polish victims.
Bartoszewski assured that the new government will raise the issue of compensation in talks with Germany.
Our government does not stop making efforts, with every bilateral visit to Germany it is stated that we are entitled to compensation, the only question is what form it should take.
– said Bartoszewski.
“In 2022 they were still in favor.”
If anyone had any illusions about the December 13 Coalition, they are now gone. At the first reading in the Foreign Affairs Committee, its parliamentarians rejected the draft resolution calling for the continuation of ReparationsForPoland’s activities Still in 2022 they were in favor
– MP Arkadiusz Mularczyk responded on the X platform.
From the very beginning, it is clear that Donald Tusk’s coalition tends to avoid the topic of reparations, mocking it (“If Berlin wants to make a transfer, we will be happy to do so. We will even grant a rebate if the money is not available. received by the end of the year,” said the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski, in February), and when the PiS government launched a major diplomatic campaign to inform about the scale of the losses suffered by Poland as a result of Nazi Germany’s aggression, the then opposition constantly shouted that they would “put us at odds” with our Western neighbors, even accusing the government of demanding reparations from Germany, but not of Russia, which waged a brutal, barbaric war in Ukraine for just a few months, is… an action that favors the Kremlin.
Today, however, the politicians of the December 13 Coalition behave in a shameful manner when it comes to reparations, and above all, they are completely subservient to Germany. The subject is still very sensitive for Berlin, which – despite sentimental assurances and superficial excuses – has still not come to terms with its past.
aja/PAP, X
Source: wPolityce