Deputy Minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk meets with foreign and security policy adviser at German Chancellery Jens Plötner
20.01.2022
On 20 January 2022, Deputy Minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk received Jens Plötner, foreign and security policy adviser to the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. The deputy head of Polish diplomacy expressed his hope that fostering good relations with the Republic of Poland will be the pillar of foreign policy pursued by the German government under the leadership of Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Deputy Minister Szynkowski vel Sęk welcomed the words about the deep German-Polish friendship that were included in the federal government’s coalition agreement. At the same time he expressed hope that bilateral relations between our countries will gain a new impetus, particularly in areas where the Polish side has so far noted stagnation. In this context the deputy chief of the Polish MFA mentioned the most important demands put forward by Polish communities in Germany, including those related to teaching of Polish as the mother tongue. The deputy minister pointed out the need to resume talks in the Polish-German Round Table format.
Two important anniversaries in the history of our bilateral relations will be celebrated in 2022: the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Poland and Germany, and the centenary of founding the Union of Poles in Germany. In this context Deputy Minister Szynkowski vel Sęk called for goodwill and urged the German side to make headway in implementing the project for a renovation of the Polish House in Bochum as soon as possible.
During the meeting the officials analysed the developments in Ukraine in the context of a potential threat of an attack by Russia, and assessed the situation at the Polish-Belarusian border. In the face of current challenges in eastern policy, the deputy minister reiterated Poland’s highly critical assessment of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, and pointed out the project’s multidimensional and detrimental effects on energy security of the entire region. Jens Plötner assured his interlocutor of Germany’s full support for efforts led by the Polish chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in such challenging times. Deputy Minister Szynkowski vel Sęk raised the issue of reparations for losses Poland and its citizens suffered during World War II. He also stressed that the Polish side fully appreciates the plans to build in Berlin a monument to Polish victims of the German Third Reich.
Łukasz Jasina
MFA Press Spokesperson
