1.4 The German - Polish community of interests, 1991 - 2002

1.4 The German “Polish community of interests, 1991 “2002

The fundamental changes generated by the two German “Polish treaties created a solid foundation for the development of Poland s foreign relations in all fields, ranging from politics to military and economic matters and bilateral and multilateral involvement in the UN, NATO, EU and other international bodies.

1.4.1 Political cooperation

The frequency of official and unofficial German “Polish contacts has increased enormously: meetings between presidents , prime ministers and chancellors, government ministers, top ministerial officials and officials at regional levels are now very well established. Some of these are worth highlighting:

• Annual German “Polish governmental consultations, held alternately in Germany and Poland (for example in June 2002 in Wrocl aw).

• Annual meetings of foreign ministers and prime ministers of East German borderlands with marshals of western Polish provinces ( voievodships ).

• Annual tripartite meetings of Polish, German and French presidents, foreign ministers and occasionally other cabinet ministers of the three countries (finance, defence and so on).

• Regular meetings of Polish and German ministers, deputy ministers and representatives of their ministries.

In addition, the increasingly multilateral character of Poland s foreign diplomacy and negotiations, particularly in respect of the UN, NATO, the European Union and regional groupings, the predominant role played in them by Germany and the growing intensity of Poland s presence within their structures is strengthening the relationship between top politicians from the two countries.

It is also worth highlighting the active part played by non-governmental and multilateral organizations. Think-tanks, foundations, research institutes, media groups, financial bodies, fairs, societies , associations and universities are staging a growing number of important conferences, where very often top politicians of Poland and Germany meet to present their views as lecturers or members of discussion panels. In this respect the attendance of Poland s foreign minister at the annual meeting of German ambassadors in Germany s Foreign Office in 2001 was of great symbolic importance.

1.4.2 Parliamentary cooperation

Contact between the Sejm and the Bundestag, and their upper chambers the Senat and the Bundesrat, has strengthened over the years . German “Polish parliamentary groups meet on a regular basis, as do their presidents within the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the North Atlantic Council. Contact is also being maintained between Polish parliamentarians and German representatives from the European Parliament.

Only once during the past 13 years has there been open conflict between the two parliamentary institutions: in 1998 the Bundestag voted on a declaration on the so-called Vertriebene (Germans who had fled or were transferred or expelled from former eastern German territories as a result of World War II). The Sejm reacted immediately with a counterdeclaration, invoking the events of World War II and the inviolability of postwar European borders. However the prompt arrival in Warsaw of Bundestag President S ¼ssmuth with an explanatory mission enabled the two sides to settle the matter.

1.4.3 Military cooperation

Since the signing of the German “Polish treaties important progress has been made in military cooperation between the two countries. Military cooperation began in 1991 and intensified after former Soviet troops stationed in Poland returned to Russia in 1992. In 1993 Poland and Germany signed a military agreement that enabled Polish officers to be trained at the Academy for Military Leaders in Hamburg, German troops to be trained on military firing ranges and training grounds in Poland, and Polish and German troops to cooperate on a bilateral basis across the common border.

Today Polish and German military forces jointly conduct over 300 operations a year, more than German troops engage in with their French counterparts. A milestone in that respect was laid in 1999 in Szczecin, when Poland, Germany and Denmark opened the headquarters of the newly created North-East Corps, transferred there from Schleswig-Holstein in Germany. The Polish air force has received a number of upgraded Soviet fighter planes from the German Luftwaffe, and the Polish army has obtained several Leopard tanks. Furthermore the Polish and German armament industries have started to work together on certain common projects. All of these are the result of Poland s and Germany s NATO membership, with the two countries being military allies within a joint political and defence structure for the first time in their history.

1.4.4 Poland s EU accession

While Germany s support for Poland s accession to the EU was inscribed in the 1991 treaty, during the now completed stages of the negotiations (in 2002, 25 of the 30 chapters to be discussed were closed) the two countries often stood in opposition , fuelled by the conflicting interests of trade unions and industrial and agricultural lobbyists. Despite this Poland managed to find rational solutions and compromises that helped it to advance the negotiations. This new experience of a tough but constructive dialogue between two partners of unequal weight, strength and position in relation to the European Union has taught Poland a lot about alliance-building among and compromise-finding with its future EU partners, including German L nder , whose regional interests do not always coincide with the federal ones.

1.4.5 Bilateral trade

Economic and financial cooperation between Poland and Germany has boomed since 1989. The major factors behind this were the extent and speed of Poland s economic transformation, the geographical proximity and potential of the Polish market, Poland s association agreement with the EU and the settlement of Poland s longstanding foreign debt.

Since the signing of the German “Polish treaties in the early 1990s bilateral trade has grown nearly fourfold, rising from DM15 billion in 1991 to almost DM60 billion in 2001. Between 1995 and 2000 the trade balance was negative for Poland “ on average DM5 billion a year. In 2001 Germany accounted for 35 per cent of total Polish exports (half of Poland s exports to the EU) and 25 per cent of total Polish imports. Germany is Poland s top trading partner worldwide in both exports and imports, whereas Poland is Germany s tenth largest export market (a 2.4 per cent share of German exports, ahead of Sweden, Russia, Japan and China) and its fourteenth largest import supplier. Poland is Germany s largest trading partner in Central and Eastern Europe. As a result of foreign direct investment in Poland during the past 12 years and the ongoing process of economic and industrial restructuring, the composition of Polish exports to Germany has changed: 50 per cent of exports now consist of electrical and mechanical equipment and machinery, cars and spare parts , furniture and textiles , with the two last industries losing their previous importance step by step.

1.4.6 Mutual direct investment

At the end of 2001 the total value of German direct investment in Poland was US$6.3 billion. Germans held the third place among all foreign investors in Poland. Two hundred and three German companies had invested more than US$1 million each in Poland, and the total number of investors exceeded 3000, most of which were small or medium- sized firms. This investment has had the positive effect of stimulating the climate for growth and innovation.

Polish investment in Germany reflects the asymmetry of the two countries economic and financial potential. Polish companies have so far invested C=125 million, mostly in construction. On the basis of a German “Polish agreement signed in 1990, in 2001 just over 500 Polish firms offered their construction services (as subcontractors to German building companies) in Germany, employing 22 000 Polish building specialists. This enabled German developers to reduce their construction costs substantially and thus to cut house prices and rentals. Although the German demand for Polish construction services has grown, trade union pressure has blocked a further increase in the number of work permits . This situation will be resolved after Poland s accession to the European Union in 2004 and the expiry of the seven-year interim period in which the German labour market will be closed to workers from new member countries.

As a consequence of the improvement in German “Polish economic relations, in 1999 Poland was upgraded to group 2 (minimal risk) on the Hermes guarantee scale.

1.4.7 Regional projects

Transborder and regional cooperation has grown spectacularly since 1990/91. There are now 250 school partnerships and more than 300 partnership agreements between Polish and German cities, districts, communes and provinces. The Treaty of Good Neighbourliness and Friendly Cooperation resulted in the establishment in 1991 of the German “Polish Commission for Regional and Cross-border Cooperation, with four committees being set up to manage projects within the PHARE, CBC and INTERREG programmes. The legal basis for interregional cooperation has gradually been broadened, and there are now 12 interregional cooperation agreements between Polish provinces and German L nder . These cover not only common projects and exchange programmes, but also cooperation among regional authorities in connection with the future accession of Poland to the EU, such as the provision of training to Polish regional delegates by German delegates in Brussels.

In 2000 the Union of Polish Districts and its German counterpart signed a cooperation agreement, the first such agreement for both Germany and Poland. There is also considerable activity between German and Polish cities. So far about 300 intercity, interregional and interprovincial partnership agreements have been signed. Similarly active are the Union of Polish Cities and its German counterpart . The Union of German Cities regularly stages an annual joint conference, and the two unions have also established a trilateral relationship with the Union of French Cities, thus fostering at the regional level the cooperation that reigns at the state level.

The Polish administrative reform, which in 1998 reduced the number of Polish provinces to 16 (the same as in Germany) and gave them greater legal and financial independence from the central state authorities, has encouraged further cooperation. Additional stimulation will be provided by the first direct elections of city mayors and presidents of communes and districts in 2002.

1.4.8 Cross-border human and trade flows

The 450 kilometres German “Polish border, the most easterly EU border in mainland Europe, has 22 road, eight train and five river crossings. Five additional border crossings are expected to be opened soon. What once divided is no longer an obstacle “ in 2001 the German “Polish border was crossed 90 million times, making it the most intensively used frontier between Poland and its seven neighbours (40 per cent of all Polish border traffic). Of the 90 million people who crossed that year, 31 million were Polish citizens (35 per cent) and 59 million were foreigners (65 per cent), of which 88 per cent were German. This was a fall of 24 per cent as a consequence of tightened border security following the terrorist attacks in the United States on 11 September 2001 and the continuing effort to prevent the spread of BSE ( ˜mad cow disease ). On average 248 000 people crossed the border every day: 78 per cent by car, 18 per cent on foot and 4 per cent by train. At Swiecko (near to Frankfurt/Oder and the largest road checkpoint on the eastern EU border), every 1.5 minutes two lorries crossed in opposite directions, amounting to more than 2000 a day. Although many improvements have been made since the border opened so dramatically in 1989/90, there are still long queues of lorries waiting for customs clearance.

At the same time the Polish and German police have joined forces to combat cross-border organized crime. German “Polish patrols on both sides of the border have helped to reduce illegal border crossings by an impressive 60 per cent.

1.4.9 Euroregions

There are four German “Polish Euroregions: Neisse “Nisa “Nysa (established in 1991 and incorporating a small area of the Czech Republic), Spree “Neisse “Bober (established in 1993), Pro Europa Viadrina and Pomerania (both established in 1995). Administrative districts on both sides of the border are engaged in the development of various joint projects. In 1994 in Gorz ³w Wielkopolski the Organization for Business Promotion (TWG) was set up to foster cross-border economic cooperation and the flow of information. It has subsequently helped many German and Polish companies to set up joint ventures and trade projects in the preparation for Poland s accession to the European Union. Because of its excellent results it is likely to continue its activities after Poland attains EU membership.

The decentralization of German “Polish cross-border activities also led to the establishment of the Polish “Bavarian Experts Commission in 1996, which meets regularly to discuss and launch joint programmes in the areas of health, environmental protection, agriculture, home affairs, economics, education and culture.

1.4.10 Social institutional cooperation

German “Polish social contacts have also flourished since 1989/90. Three institutions, all established on the basis of the German “Polish treaty of 1991, are worth mentioning: the German “Polish Youth Exchange ( Jugendwerk ), the German “Polish Reconciliation Foundation and the German “Polish Cooperation Foundation.

Since 1993 the Jugendwerk programme has enabled more than one million young Poles and Germans to visit their contemporaries on the opposite side of the border, thus following the example of the similar but much older French “German project. In 2001 alone nearly 150 000 young schoolchildren and students from both countries participated in more than 3000 exchange programmes. The German “Polish Reconciliation Foundation was endowed by the German government with DM500 million to assist Polish victims of the Nazi regime . Since 2001 it has also handled compensation payments worth DM1.8 billion for those Polish forced labourers who survived World War II. Meanwhile the German “Polish Cooperation Foundation was appointed by the German government to handle the Polish repayment instalments of the so-called jumbo credit that Germany extended to Poland in 1975. In addition it has supported the realization of joint German “Polish cultural and social projects aimed at developing mutual relations. There are also a number of social projects by German associations, societies, foundations, churches , cities, communes, districts and individuals to promote German “Polish reconciliation on a spiritual or humanistic basis. Particularly active in this field are the political foundations named after Friedrich Ebert (SPD), Kondrad Adenauer (CDU), Friedrich Naumann (FDP) and Heinrich B ll (B ¼ndnis 90/Gr ¼ne), as well as the numerous Polish “German societies that have arisen since 1996 in both countries.

1.4.11 Germans in Poland and Poles in Germany

The 1991 German “Polish Treaty of Good Neighbourliness and Friendly Cooperation included a political novelty: three articles (20, 21, 22) relating to Germans living in Poland and Poles living in Germany. This was the first formal acknowledgement of the existence of a German minority in Poland. Today this population numbers about 250 000 people (Kurcz, 2001, p. 25) organized into more than 70 sociocultural groups, mostly in the regions between Katowice (Upper Silesia), Czestochowa and Opole (Lower Silesia), where they gained a majority in a number of communes and towns in three communal elections after 1991 (Urban, 1993; Bingen, 1999, p. 134). Not limited by the voting barrier of 5 per cent that exists in Poland for candidate parties, the German minority in Poland also have representatives in the Polish parliament (two MPs in 2002). They publish their own German newspapers, run radio stations and TV programmes, conduct mass in German and have their own schools . A sizable number also hold German citizenship and already enjoy EU freedom of movement.

The treaty of 1991 guaranteed German citizens of Polish origin living in Germany the same rights as the German minority living in Poland. However, as they do not live in concentrated groups, they have not gained political representation at the regional or the federal level, nor have they managed to secure a satisfactory degree of Polish-language teaching. This could be of importance after Poland s accession to the EU in view of the German “Polish business ventures that are likely to mushroom.

Apart from certain difficulties, that still exist in these people s relations with the authorities in the respective countries, the treaty of 1991 and subsequent developments have substantially improved not only the position of the two national groups in the country in which they live, but also the chances that will be open to them following Poland s accession to the EU.

1.4.12 Cultural promotion

The development of German “Polish cultural, scientific and educational initiatives since the political changes in the two countries is also of importance. These initiatives include a new legal framework at the governmental level, agreements on cultural cooperation (1989) and scientific-technical cooperation (1997) between the governments of Poland and Germany. In addition a number of new institutions have been created, and every two years the Polish “German Commission for Culture meets in order to evaluate the progress achieved and to propose new initiatives.

In Poland two Goethe Institutes (in Warsaw and Cracow) and the German Historical Institute (Warsaw) promote German art, culture and history, as well as German “Polish joint research and publications in these areas. They are assisted in these endeavours by German political foundations (see Section 1.4.10). On top of this, numerous German arts events (literature, film, theatre, opera, ballet, music, painting, sculpture) are held in Poland, promoted by various non-governmental organizations, institutions, companies, foundations and individual sponsors.

Polish art and culture is promoted in Germany by Polish institutes in Berlin, Leipzig and D ¼sseldorf, the Deutsches Polen Institut in Darmstadt and a number of cultural institutions, associations, societies and foundations that act on a countrywide or regional basis. Every year nearly 1500 political, economic, scientific and cultural German “Polish events take place in German cities, communes, districts and regions, most of them organized by non-governmental institutions and with a particular focus on multilateral aspects of Poland s preparations to join the European Union in 2004.

Among the many important events worth mentioning are the millennium celebrations of the meeting in 1000 in Gniezno between Emperor Otto III and Prince Boles‚aw Chrobry (Brave), a series of literary lectures on Polish literature in 40 cities in North-Rhine-Westphalia in 2000, and Poland s successful participation at EXPO 2000 in Hanover and at the International Book Fair in Frankfurt/Main the same year. Every year Polish politicians, scientists and artists are awarded special distinctions and prizes, take part in important public events as guest lecturers, and appear in newspapers, magazines and radio and TV programmes on matters of importance for the two countries. Among the well-established cultural phenomena it is worth mentioning the German “Polish Prize, which is awarded annually by the foreign ministers of the two countries to institutions or persons who have contributed to a better understanding between the two nations, and the Cultural Prize of Silesia, which was established by the government of Lower Saxony to honour the best German and Polish artists coming from or living in Silesia.

1.4.13 Education

German “Polish cooperation has developed between hundreds of scientific and school organizations, universities and research and development institutes in practically all educational and scientific fields. An unparalleled institution in this respect is the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt/Oder, which was founded in 1991. Polish and German students enrol jointly, with the Polish group amounting to more than one third of the total student population. Another institution is the Collegium Polonicum in S‚ubice, a project of Pozna University in cooperation with the University Viadrina. German is taught in practically all Polish secondary schools and universities, and in the very short time since the establishment of normal political relations between the united Germany and democratic Poland, German has become the second foreign language in Poland, especially among young people. However this has not been the case with the Polish language in Germany, and progress in this respect will depend on the development of Poland s attractiveness to Germany as a political, economic and cultural partner within the EU.