Fractured Neighbors: A Century of Unfinished Business Between Poland and Germany

He participated in the ministerial conference held in Berlin to discuss the European Union’s expansion policy and institutional reforms.

“The biggest problem is that the German side does not agree with all the conclusions presented in the report on war losses and does not respond constructively to all the questions we raised in the note we sent to the German government more than a year ago,” Rau said.

Last year, the Polish government prepared a detailed report on war losses and sent a diplomatic note to Germany asking for compensation for the huge losses Poland suffered at the hands of the Germans during World War II.

The government has set a requirement of 1.3 trillion euros.

But Berlin insists that Poland renounced all claims to Germany during the communist era. The Law and Justice (PiS) government opposes this, arguing that Poland could not make fully sovereign decisions at the time.

In addition, according to Z. Rau, the Polish government’s approach to European integration is completely different from Germany’s.

“We stand for a Europe of sovereign states, and Germany is clearly seeking to change the way the European Union works,” said the Polish minister.

Warsaw opposes any plans to further federalize Europe, warning that it could create a “superpower” that would undermine the bloc’s national interests.

Z. Rau said he was concerned that the issue of EU enlargement, which Poland supports, could be linked to the idea of ​​European federalization and that this could delay the enlargement process or be seen as a basis against this enlargement.

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