Germany is the closest ally of Poland in the European Union, according to 32 percent of Poles polled in a recent survey by daily Rzeczpospolita.
According to the poll, the respondents said that the next best ally for Poland is Hungary (20 percent), with the United Kingdom in third place (12.5 percent).
“Over the last decade and a half, Germany has been a strategic ally [for Poland] in the EU for successive governments – from Leszek Miller [Polish PM between 2001-2004 – ed.], who negotiated the accession to the EU, as well as the [Civic Platform] governments, which led its European policy in close cooperation with Berlin. Only the government led by Beata Szydło clearly changed tack, cooling relations with Berlin,” the Rzeczpospolita daily wrote in its Monday edition.
Poland and Germany recently marked the 25th anniversary of the Polish-German Treaty of Good Neighbourship and Friendly Cooperation. Signed in 1991, the treaty set Poland and Germany on a path of reconciliation, several decades after Nazi Germans inflicted mass destruction on Poland during World War II. Rapprochement remained elusive between Poland’s communist-era rulers and the then East Germany.
Polish President Andrzej Duda recently said in Berlin: “The enormity of what had to be overcome has no precedent in history. I am proud as the president of Poland that my nation followed the path of reconciliation with the German people. This is our great, joint achievement and an example, not only for Europe but for the world.”
