Merz welcomes Nawrocki in Berlin as Polish-German strains meet solidarity

BERLIN – A show of German-Polish solidarity against Russian drone incursions on Tuesday was tempered by long-standing tensions over war reparations and migration, as Friedrich Merz welcomed Polish President Karol Nawrocki to Berlin for the first time.

Nawrocki’s trip exposed strains in Merz’s efforts to rebuild close cooperation with Germany’s two biggest neighbours, Poland and France. Political chaos in Paris has the Franco-German engine sputtering, while the right-wing populist Nawrocki’s victory in June’s Polish presidential election has complicated Merz’s friendly relationship with Poland’s centrist, pro-EU Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Nawrocki and Merz could have made a public show of German-Polish solidarity in Berlin. But the two men instead skipped holding a typical joint press conference, a hint that tensions could spoil the mood.

Nawrocki, backed by the right-wing opposition Law & Justice (PiS) party, has vehemently called for massive new German reparations over the brutal Nazi invasion and occupation during World War II and vowed to put the demand for around €1.3 trillion directly to Merz during the trip.

Germany has long ruled out new war reparations. A spokesperson for German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who greeted Nawrocki in Berlin on Tuesday morning, said that Steinmeier emphasised that, “from Germany’s perspective, the issue has been legally settled once and for all.”

Another point of friction is Germany’s decision to impose unilateral border controls, part of a broader effort to crack down on migration, which has angered Poland, as well as Luxembourg.

Just an hour before welcoming the Polish president, Merz had declared in a speech to engineering industry leaders that other European countries have been turning to Germany and demanding that Berlin take on a greater leadership role in Europe.

Nawrocki did not join the apparent chorus.

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