Six Senators and eleven Bundesrat Members, including the Friendship Groups Chairs, Senator Beniamin Godyla and Minister-President Michael Kretschmer (Saxony), took part in the joint meetings.
Expert Discussions in Potsdam
On the first day of their meeting in Potsdam, the Friendship Groups, chaired by Minister-President Dietmar Woidke (Brandenburg), discussed cross-border cooperation at the regional level and the challenges of teaching Polish in Germany and German in Poland.
Visiting the Bundesrat
On the second day, a visit to the Bundesrat was on the agenda. The Polish delegation attended the Bundesrat’s plenary session from the gallery seating for VIP visitors, where they were welcomed by the President of the Bundesrat Manuela Schwesig.
Discussing before the meeting
© Bundesrat | Frank Bräuer
From the gallery, the guests from Poland had an opportunity to follow the debate on a Resolution proposed by several federal states on improving relations between Germany and Poland. All speakers emphasized that relations with Poland are of great importance to the German federal states – 85 years after Germany invaded and 20 years after Poland’s accession to the EU.
Poland’s Significance for the EU
Some of the Polish members of the Friendship Groups
© Bundesrat | Frank Bräuer
“It is a tremendous achievement that so much common ground, trust, and appreciation has been developed over the past decades, despite these many historical crimes, and that Poles and Germans can get along so well between and within our countries”, as Minister-President Kretschmer, Chair of the Bundesrat’s German-Polish Friendship Group, commented when presenting the motion. All speakers in the debate emphasised Poland’s particular importance for the European Union. “Eastern Europe is not an appendage, but instead Eastern Europe – and Poland in particular – is a driving force for European development. It is vital to reinforce awareness of that within Germany and across Europe”, Minister-President Woidke noted.
Bundesrat President Schwesig underscored the similarities between these neighbouring countries: “We focus less on what divides us and more on what unites us: the shared values of freedom, self-determination, cooperation across borders, and peaceful dialogue”. She emphasised that the Weimar Triangle – cooperation between France, Poland and Germany in European affairs – is of great significance and proposed that this forum be further expanded.
Cooperation in Agriculture and Science
The group subsequently met in the Bundesrat for its second working session. The focus here was on cooperation in agriculture and the scientific cooperation.
The Friendship Groups’ next meeting will be held in Poland next year.