The Polish government’s plenipotentiary for Polish-German cooperation said in an interview with PAP that Germany should not make decisions on temporary border controls without consulting its neighbors. “They do not have a positive impact on the atmosphere of relations between Poland and Germany,” said Prof. Krzysztof Ruchniewicz.
Coordinators of the Polish and German governments for intersocial and cross-border cooperation between the two countries, Prof. Krzysztof Ruchniewicz and Dietmar Nietan spoke in Berlin on Thursday evening.
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As the Polish representative told PAP, the topics of discussion included: balance in Polish-German relations in recent months, the impact of history on bilateral relations, Polish-German projects, including youth exchanges and the issue of the temporary controls that Germany has introduced at its borders.
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They are destroying Schengen
Prof. Ruchniewicz stressed that both he and Nietan agree that there should be no situation where Germany decides to introduce border controls without consulting its neighbouring and friendly countries.
Such situations should not occur in Europe
– notes the representative of the Polish government for Polish-German cooperation. According to him, similar decisions should be consulted, even if Germany justifies these changes with its internal situation.
Ruchniewicz also pointed out that during the meeting with Nietan, the issue of the situation of people living on the Polish-German border was raised. According to Ruchniewicz, the controls on the German-Polish border have an additional negative impact on the daily life of residents.
And in general they do not have a positive impact on the atmosphere of Polish-German relations
– added the professor.
On Monday, German Interior Ministry head Nancy Faeser announced that temporary controls would begin at all of the country’s land borders on September 16. The controls would remain in place for at least six months. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Tuesday that the German authorities’ decision to reinstate controls was a “de facto suspension (of the functioning) of the Schengen area on a large scale.” He announced that Poland would ask other countries affected by Berlin’s decision to urgently discuss action at the European forum.
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koala/PAP
Source: wPolityce
Emma Matthew is a political analyst for “Social Bites”. With a keen understanding of the inner workings of government and a passion for politics, she provides insightful and informative coverage of the latest political developments.