Annual meetings in the form of an economic forum and the Weimar Triangle – announced in the document “Polish-German Action Plan”. It was added that it is also intended to: establish a regularly meeting Polish-German working group on energy and climate. The document emphasizes that both countries exchange experiences, information and best practices, among other things. Let us hope that these are not experiences and practices such as building gas pipelines with war criminals.
The Prime Minister’s Office published the “Polish-German Action Plan” following Tuesday’s intergovernmental consultation, which included Prime Minister Donald Tusk and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. This was the first such consultation between the governments of Poland and Germany since 2018. The document stated that this format of talks would be held regularly, and both sides also expressed their readiness to establish new mechanisms for bilateral consultation, such as joint meetings of the foreign and defense ministers.
“We are going to exchange knowledge
The action plan ensures that from 2024 onwards annual meetings will take place in the form of the Polish-German Economic Forum and the Weimar Triangle.
We will exchange knowledge and cooperate in the field of innovation and artificial intelligence, as well as internationalization and support for start-ups by using and, where necessary, expanding existing cooperation structures within the Polish-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well as other cooperation platforms. We will deepen and further develop innovation cooperation in jointly funded research and development projects in all areas of technology and applications (…)
– it was in the document.
It was also announced that both countries will consult and cooperate on the modernisation of existing railway lines and on possible future infrastructure projects connecting Poland and Germany, in order to adapt to the growing passenger and freight traffic by rail. Close coordination of activities to combine integrated regular timetables in Poland and Germany was also announced, as well as an analysis of travel times between Polish and German cities and the need to accelerate cross-border rail connections.
The document also states that both countries will cooperate in the implementation of the Polish-German “friendship ticket”. It was added that in the field of inland navigation, countries will continue dialogue and cooperation in the implementation of the 2015 joint agreement on the Oder Waterway and issues related to navigation safety.
Cooperation within the Weimar Triangle
Furthermore, it was stated that discussions would be held on the creation of a “digital Weimar Triangle”, with the aim of developing common positions that will be presented to the European Commission and other EU Member States. It was added that Poland and Germany will work together to promote a common form for the declaration of posted workers, i.e. eDeclaration, and to create a multilingual EU portal that will allow companies to submit posting declarations in digital form and in their own language.
It was also announced that cooperation in the field of combating money laundering and terrorist financing within the Weimar Triangle will be expanded.
The plan to establish a regularly meeting Polish-German working group on energy and climate was also announced, which will consist of expert-level representatives from the ministries dealing with the topics discussed. Both governments also agreed to promote the scope of the activities of the Polish-German energy platform, including the bilateral Polish-German high-level forum on energy transformation.
Berlin and Warsaw also intend to regularly exchange information on policies aimed at accelerating the deployment of renewable energy sources, including: improving energy efficiency and facilitating the decarbonisation of the heating sector, in particular district heating. The governments of both countries also plan to jointly discuss the implementation of the hydrogen economy, including the decarbonisation of the industry and the implementation of the 2030 targets for renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO).
We will exchange technological and legislative experiences on the development of the hydrogen economy in Europe. We will discuss joint infrastructure projects, such as the construction of the Nordic-Baltic Hydrogen Corridor, and implement other cross-border projects. We will exchange information on the conversion of gas storages to hydrogen storages, the development of new hydrogen storages and the required quantities in 2035.
– it was in the document.
Diversification of energy supply, climate and the ‘Green Deal’
It was added that Poland and Germany will jointly continue and intensify efforts to diversify energy supplies and work to effectively reduce Russia’s energy export revenues.
We will deepen cooperation on energy security issues, in particular affordable and secure supplies of oil and gas in light of Russia’s war of aggression and Russia’s use of energy as a weapon
– emphasized in the document.
It was also announced that both sides support the implementation of the EU’s 2050 climate neutrality objective and a joint exchange of best practices in the implementation of the ‘Fit for 55’ package was announced, including: Emissions Trading System and in the further development of the EU’s climate and energy policies and the European Green Deal. It was added that Warsaw will cooperate with Berlin in the field of genetic resources to promote biodiversity as part of national development strategies.
Statements about diversifying energy supplies and reducing revenues from Russia seem particularly interesting in the context of Germany’s past. Moreover, does climate and energy cooperation mean that our western neighbor will willingly allow us to build nuclear power plants (the Germans were very unhappy about that earlier), or will we have to forget about this source of energy?
yes/PAP
Source: wPolityce