“Legitimation of his regime”: Morawiecki criticizes Merkel's talks with Lukashenko

The Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has criticized the Executive Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) for her talks with the Belarusian ruler Alexandr Lukashenko. In an interview with the German Press Agency, he welcomed the fact that the European Union was involved in the search for a diplomatic solution to the refugee crisis on the border between Belarus and Poland. "But when Chancellor Merkel called Mr. Lukashenko, she helped legitimize his regime, while the struggle for a free Belarus has been going on for 15 months," said the head of government belonging to the national-conservative PiS party.

Merkel had phoned Lukashenko twice in mid-November, although Germany, like other Western countries, does not recognize him as a legitimate president.

Government spokesman Steffen Seibert justified the contact with the devastating humanitarian situation for thousands of people on the border.

He also pointed out that the procedure had been coordinated with the EU Commission.

"This statement is wrong"

Morawiecki accused Lukashenko of misusing the phone calls for his own purposes.

“He pretended that Merkel had agreed to the transport of 2,000 migrants through a corridor to Germany and other European countries.

And that's not right. "Lukashenko had only said on Friday that Merkel had agreed to the admission of the refugees. Government spokesman Seibert had clearly denied that: Statement is wrong. "

For weeks, thousands of migrants have been trying to get from Belarus across the EU's external borders to Poland or the Baltic states.

The EU accuses Lukashenko of specifically having people flown into Minsk from crisis regions in order to then smuggle them into the EU.

Morawiecki again declined to help the European border protection agency Frontex to secure the Polish borders. "We have 15,000 border guards and Frontex has up to 1200 border and coastal guards for all external borders of the European Union," he said in explanation. In addition, 15,000 Polish soldiers are available for border protection. "So our border is pretty close."

The Polish Prime Minister now sees broad consensus in Europe on refugee policy. Regarding the opening of borders in the 2015 refugee crisis, he said: “The previous refugee policy has proven to be a mistake. Most EU countries, with the exception of one or two, have understood that we cannot have an open door policy and multiculturalism. "Marowiecki rejected a common EU asylum policy. That should remain a matter for the individual member states.

The head of government reiterated his offer to help finance the repatriation of refugees from Belarus.

But he also emphasized that the EU as a whole has a duty to do so.

A few days ago, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promised up to 3.5 million euros for this.

The repatriation of the refugees has already started.

Flights from Minsk back to Iraq are taking off again and again these days. 

Change of course on the subject of Nord Stream 2?

Morawiecki also hopes that the new federal government will change course in the dispute over the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

"I would expect the new German government to do everything possible to prevent Nord Stream 2 from becoming an instrument in President Putin's arsenal," he said in an interview with the German press agency.

The pipeline could be used to blackmail Ukraine and Moldova.

"It is also an instrument for manipulating energy prices," emphasized the Polish head of government.

The 1230-kilometer double line from Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany has been completed, but no natural gas has yet flowed through the pipeline.

Last week, the Federal Network Agency suspended a necessary certification process for the time being.

In their coalition agreement, the SPD, Greens and FDP do not directly refer to Nord Stream 2.

However, there is the sentence: "European energy law applies to energy policy projects in Germany as well." According to negotiators, this can be understood as an indication that, under European law, the operator of the pipeline must be separated from the gas producer.

The operator Nord Stream 2 AG is a subsidiary of the Russian gas company Gazprom.

The formulation was especially important to the Greens, who are opposed to the project.

But the FDP is also skeptical, while the SPD is much more open.

The pipeline arrives in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, which is ruled by SPD Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig.