WARSAW, Poland: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Saturday that she found it unacceptable that refugees were being used to apply pressure to Poland and other European Union members on the border with Belarus.
Speaking at a news conference during what she said she expected to be her last official visit to Poland as chancellor, Merkel appealed to Belarus, but also to Poland, to help people in difficult humanitarian conditions caught between the border of Poland and Belarus.
She stressed that she found it “completely unacceptable that such hybrid attacks” were being carried out with the use of people seeking to reach the EU, recalling that it was also a message she delivered to Russian President Vladimir Putin during a recent meeting.
Poland, Lithuania and Latvia have seen a rise in crossings by Iraqis, Afghans, Syrians and Africans from Belarus in recent months. The three EU countries accuse Belarus of pushing the migrants across their borders and say they view that as an element of “hybrid warfare” against the EU.
Merkel spoke at a news conference with Polish President Mateusz Morawiecki in front of a palace in Warsaw’s Royal Baths park.
The two said they discussed the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as well as security issues in light of recent developments in Afghanistan, as new threats coming from cyber-attacks.
European issues also came up, including climate policy and an ongoing dispute between Warsaw and Brussels over changes to the judicial system in Poland which the EU considers to violate the rule of law.
Merkel said she hoped the issue can be solved through dialogue. Merkel, who has been chancellor since 2005, plans to step down after an election later this month.
Morawiecki said that despite some disagreements, the Polish-German relationship has developed during Merkel’s time at the helm.
“Our economic relations are very good, Polish companies are growing in cooperation with German companies, and vice versa, for which I am very grateful,” Morawiecki said.
He said that “despite various differences, we are able, above all, to emphasize what unites us.”
Merkel also commemorated the victims of World War II in Warsaw by laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The war began with Germany’s invasion of Poland and left tens of thousands of dead, with some 6 million killed in Poland.
Merkel calls migrant push at EU’s border ‘unacceptable’
https://arab.news/gmjjh
Merkel calls migrant push at EU’s border ‘unacceptable’
- Merkel appealed to Belarus, but also to Poland, to help people in difficult humanitarian conditions caught between the border of Poland and Belarus
- Poland, Lithuania and Latvia have seen a rise in crossings by Iraqis, Afghans, Syrians and Africans from Belarus in recent months
Europeans push back at US over claim they face ‘civilizational erasure’
- “Contrary to what some may say, woke, decadent Europe is not facing civilizational erasure,” Kallas told the conference
MUNICH: A top European Union official on Sunday rejected the notion that Europe faces “civilizational erasure,” pushing back at criticism of the continent by the Trump administration.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas addressed the Munich Security Conference a day after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered a somewhat reassuring message to European allies. He struck a less aggressive tone than Vice President JD Vance did in lecturing them at the same gathering last year but maintained a firm tone on Washington’s intent to reshape the trans-Atlantic alliance and push its policy priorities.
Kallas alluded to criticism in the US national security strategy released in December, which asserted that economic stagnation in Europe “is eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure.” It suggested that Europe is being enfeebled by its immigration policies, declining birth rates, “censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition” and a “loss of national identities and self-confidence.”
“Contrary to what some may say, woke, decadent Europe is not facing civilizational erasure,” Kallas told the conference. “In fact, people still want to join our club and not just fellow Europeans,” she added, saying she was told when visiting Canada last year that many people there have an interest in joining the EU.
Kallas rejected what she called “European-bashing.”
“We are, you know, pushing humanity forward, trying to defend human rights and all this, which is actually bringing also prosperity for people. So that’s why it’s very hard for me to believe these accusations.”
In his conference speech, Rubio said that an end to the trans-Atlantic era “is neither our goal nor our wish,” adding that “our home may be in the Western hemisphere, but we will always be a child of Europe.”
He made clear that the Trump administration is sticking to its guns on issues such as migration, trade and climate. And European officials who addressed the gathering made clear that they in turn will stand by their values, including their approach to free speech, climate change and free trade.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Saturday that Europe must defend “the vibrant, free and diverse societies that we represent, showing that people who look different to each other can live peacefully together, that this isn’t against the tenor of our times.”
“Rather, it is what makes us strong,” he said.
Kallas said Rubio’s speech sent an important message that America and Europe are and will remain intertwined.
“It is also clear that we don’t see eye to eye on all the issues and this will remain the case as well, but I think we can work from there,” she said.
