by Aleksandra Krzysztoszek
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called off his visit to Germany, planned for later this week, as relations between the two countries worsen.
Tusk was due to travel to Potsdam to receive the M100 Media Award, which is given to “personalities who are committed to strengthening democracy, freedom of expression and freedom of the press as well as to European understanding,” according to the German M100 Sanssouci Colloquium organisation.
But Tusk cancelled his trip at the last moment, citing domestic commitments, and Justice Minister Adam Bodnar will now travel in his place.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz, due to deliver a laudation in Tusk’s honour, will also not attend the ceremony.
“It is with deep regret that Chancellor Olaf Scholz has had to cancel his participation in the M100 Media Award due to scheduling conflicts. Prime Minister Donald Tusk can also not attend the ceremony in person due to important national commitments,” the organisers said.
Former German President Joachim Gauck and former German Defence Minister Rudolf Scharping will deliver the laudatory speeches.
The symbolic M100 Media Award is intended as a “prize of the European press”, with the winners selected by the members of the M100 Advisory Board. Previous winners include the Women’s Life Freedom Movement in Iran, the people of Ukraine, Alexey Navalny and Mario Draghi.
Tusk, whom Potsdam Mayor Mike Schubert previously described as “an essential advocate of our democratic, free society”, will be honoured alongside Kosovo President Viosa Osmani.
Schubert said Tusk was being honoured for his “tireless fight against autocracy,” while Osmani “demonstrated determination and foresight in defence of a young democracy in a region that has long been marked by conflict.”
Following elections in October, the Tusk-led coalition of centrist and left-wing parties (EPP/S&D/Renew) took power from the previous conservative PiS (ECR) government, which had seen the country’s access to EU funds blocked by the European Commission for rule of law violations and was criticised by international organisations for undermining media freedom.
The new government has taken steps to restore the independence of Poland’s judiciary and changed the management of public media, which international watchdogs warned had become a propaganda tool of the ruling party under PiS rule.
Tough weeks for Warsaw and Berlin
The exact reason for Tusk’s decision to cancel his trip to Germany, and whether it was Tusk or Scholz who cancelled first, remains unclear, as the Prime Minister’s Office did not respond to Euractiv.pl’s request for comment before the publication of this article.
Polish-German relations reached a new low under PiS rule, whose policies were often driven by the party’s anti-German resentment. They were expected to improve with Tusk in power.
Tusk, who is partly of German descent (his grandmother was German) and was once known for his friendship with former chancellor Angela Merkel, is often derided by the PiS as a “servant of Berlin”.
However, the bilateral relationship between Warsaw and Berlin, although highly valued by both sides, has grown colder in recent weeks.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the main cause of the deterioration is the Nord Stream pipelines.
Berlin’s request to arrest a Ukrainian citizen living in Poland suspected of causing the Nord Stream 2 explosion was rejectedl by Poland, and Tusk even called out Germany last month, telling “all the initiators and patrons of Nord Stream 1 and 2” that “the only thing they should do today is apologise and keep quiet”.
Neither side has confirmed that the cancellation of the two leaders’ visit to Potsdam has anything to do with the apparent deterioration in relations.
*first published in: Euractiv.com
By: N. Peter Kramer
