Polish-French relations need mending - security head - News - National Security Bureau

04.05.2017

Polish-French relations need mending - security head

The idea of the Weimar Triangle is still alive, although the Polish-French relations undoubtedly need improvement, head of the National Security Bureau (BBN) Pawel Soloch said on Thursday.

Paweł Soloch was referring to the words of Paris's Jacques Delors Institute director, Yves Bertoncini who told the Polish daily Rzeczpospolita that the crisis that had broken out between Poland and France due to the cancellation of Caracal helicopter contact caused the Weimar format to be practically suspended.

"The Weimar Triangle is not working at the moment, also because we are a few days ahead of the second round of the French presidential elections", he said, adding that repairing relations with France was in the "Weimar" context a top priority.

Paweł Soloch added that when he had been in Paris last autumn, "the French side declared their will to return to the Weimar Triangle, noting that the issue (of Caracals - PAP) would return only after the presidential election". He also pointed out that the autumn parliamentary elections in Germany form "an agenda that limits far-reaching political maneuvers".

Weimar Triangle was established by the foreign ministers in 1991 to develop cooperation between Poland, Germany and France.

Paweł Soloch was also asked about the statements of Emmanuel Macron, the winner of the first round of the French presidential elections, who recently had told the daily Voix du Nord that if elected, he would back EU sanctions against Poland, which "violated all EU principles". He made the statement after he had met with striking workers at Whirlpool's Amiens plant scheduled for shutdown and relocation to central Poland's city of Lodz.

In P. Soloch's opinion, Macron's statement was a "big and unpleasant surprise". "Let's hope this can be mended", he said. According to him, Macron's allegations against Poland appeared in the context of a free internal European market.

"The criticism of Poland is related to the fact that Whirlpool wants to move to Poland. We are simply competitive compared to the French labour market, that's all", Soloch concluded.

Source: PAP