Baerbock is taught in Poland – and the trip is something special for her

Perhaps the words of Poland’s Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau in greeting Annalena Baerbock were meant in a fatherly way. But what the 66-year-old law professor of Germany’s new foreign minister said right from the start also came across as strict and condescending. He himself took over this office just under a year ago, said Rau of the Green politician. “And many of my theoretical ideas about my work have been corrected through ongoing practice.” He wishes her luck. “You will need it in the fulfillment of your mission, but also in Polish-German relations.”

Baerbock followed Rau’s 20-minute lecture with many accusations and demands from Poland to the new German traffic light government of the SPD, Greens and FDP with an interested expression on her face: she looked attentively at her colleague standing to her left in long passages of his speech.

Poland insists on reparations from Germany

Rau underlined Poland’s demand for redress for the damage caused by World War II. “We expect the new German government to be willing to face this responsibility, also in the form of talks about recompensations and reparations.” This concerns compensation for Polish cultural monuments, works of art, archives and libraries that were not destroyed by acts of war, “but as a result of the occupying power’s efforts to eradicate them from human heritage.” For the federal government, the issue of compensation is legally and politically closed. It mainly refers to the Two-Plus-Four Treaty on the Foreign Policy Consequences of German Unity of 1990.

During the delicate public appearance with Rau, Baerbock tried not to add fuel to the fire unnecessarily. They talked about a lot on which they were very in agreement and about “some of the things that separate us”. She thanked “for the congratulations for the” diplomatic life that lies ahead of me, but also ahead of both of us, because we will now move very, very often together in Europe. “The traffic light coalition agreement already makes it clear that it is There is a deep friendship between Germany and Poland, said Baerbock. Given their origins, this is not only a political but also a very personal statement for her.

“Germany and Poland are close friends – that also affects me personally. My grandparents moved from Poland to Germany around 60 years ago,” wrote the Foreign Minister on her Instagram channel following photos of her visit to Warsaw. “I live in Brandenburg, a border region to our neighboring country. Nowhere is it so clear how closely the two countries are connected. Unforgettable are the moments in the corona pandemic when people beamed with joy again across the bridge between Frankfurt (Oder) and the Polish Slubice. Europe is growing together here. “

But Baerbock also comes up with things that, from a Polish point of view, are not a feel-good issue. Poland must give aid organizations access to migrants on the border with Belarus, she demands. Germany stands with full responsibility and solidarity on the side of Poland and the Baltic states in the face of the blackmail maneuver of the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko. “But we must also, I would like to make it clear, that in view of the freezing temperatures in the border area, humanitarian aid is available on both sides of the border.” The people who fell victim to this cynical game were not to blame for the situation and needed help – this was especially true for the children.

Annalena Baerbock is looking for moderate tones

For weeks, thousands of migrants and refugees have been trying to get from Belarus across the EU’s external borders to Poland or the Baltic states. The EU accuses Lukashenko of specifically allowing people from crisis regions to be flown into Minsk in order to then smuggle them into the EU and thus destabilize the situation in the West. Poland has restricted freedom of movement in a three-kilometer-wide strip along the border with Belarus – aid organizations are not allowed in.

To underline her commitment in this matter, the Foreign Minister wanted to meet with Poland’s human rights representative after her meeting with Rau and with representatives of the aid organizations that are trying to help migrants in need under very difficult conditions in the border region.

Both Baerbock and Rau found moderate tones on the issue of the rule of law. You are relying on a joint negotiated solution with Poland, said the Green politician. If the discrepancies are very large, as is the case with this topic, “it is all the more important to be in intensive discussions on these topics”. A solution must be sought jointly and not just bilaterally at the European level.

In the EU there has been a dispute with the governments of Hungary and Poland for years because, as evidenced by a number of court rulings, they do not comply with EU law. Poland’s national-conservative PiS government has been restructuring the justice system for years. The EU Commission has opened infringement proceedings against Warsaw because of the reforms.

“In foreign policy and diplomacy in particular, you don’t just need a bit of diplomatic luck, you always need hope,” said Baerbock when asked whether, after her talks in Warsaw, she hoped that Poland could give way in the legal dispute . Rau added that “a strategic, patient dialogue” is needed on the rule of law.