‘Ms Nord Stream 2?’: German Merkel hinders her last visit to Poland

WARSAW, Sept. 11 (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to Poland on Saturday as part of a farewell tour of Europe for the continent’s longest-running leader risks being overshadowed by tensions of a gas pipeline and questions about his legacy in central Europe.

Growing up in East Germany, near the Polish border, Merkel, 67, was seen by some observers as a chancellor who could relate to the post-communist states of Central Europe.

However, on his farewell visit to the capital of Europe’s emerging economy, his determination to complete the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in Russia has deteriorated relations.

The pipeline pits Germany, the EU’s largest economy, against Central and Eastern European nations, some of them EU members, who say it will increase dependence on the Russian gas bloc.

Russia, the cornerstone of the Soviet Union that once dominated Central and Eastern Europe, is still viewed with suspicion in much of the region.

“She was generally seen as a person who understood Central and Eastern Europe,” said Michal Baranowski, head of the German Marshall Fund’s office, adding that Polish-German relations were at a “difficult time.”

“I think it goes like Ms. Nord Stream 2, from a Polish perspective.”

Relations have been strained under Poland’s ruling nationalists, the PiS.

Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz told Polish public radio on Friday that he expected Nord Stream 2 to take part in Merkel’s talks with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, along with Poland’s COVID-19 national recovery plan. which has not been approved by Brussels due to concerns about Warsaw. commitment to the rule of law. Read more

CONFLICTS

Poland and Hungary are embroiled in a long history with Brussels over issues such as judicial independence, press freedoms and LGBT rights, a conflict that has intensified recently and Brussels has taken legal action against Warsaw and Budapest. .

“She (Merkel) is concerned about growing differences over the judicial issue between Eastern Europe and the rest,” a German government source said.

Analysts say that under Merkel’s government, Germany sought consensus and dialogue with the states of Central and Eastern Europe, putting Brussels at the forefront and avoiding direct conflict.

However, some diplomats say Merkel could have done more against the democratic setback.

“Merkel doesn’t like the revolution. She doesn’t like rocking the ship and probably thought she could hold it, and of course that didn’t work,” said Sophie in’t Veld, a Dutch Liberal member of the European Parliament. .

But with anti-German sentiment still strong among many PiS voters, some analysts say Merkel may also have been wary of provoking old animosities in a country that suffered greatly during World War II.

PiS politicians have repeatedly called for war reparations in Germany.

With Armin Laschet, the Conservative candidate to succeed Merkel, who is fighting in the polls, policymakers across Europe are beginning to contemplate what a Social Democrat-led government of Finance Minister Olaf Scholz would mean.

“It is very important that the next German government supports a more determined EU response to stop backtracking on Poland, Hungary and other countries,” said Daniela Schwarzer, executive director for Europe and Eurasia at the Open Society Foundation. .

Report by Alan Charlish, Justyna Pawlak, Anna Koper and Alicja Ptak in Warsaw, Andreas Rinke in Berlin, John Chalmers in Brussels, John Irish in Paris Mark Potter Edition

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