Poland: Berlin wants the European Union as the “Fourth German Reich”

Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski accused Germany of wanting to turn the European Union into a “Fourth German Reich”. There are countries that are “not enthusiastic about the prospect of building a Fourth German Reich on the basis of the European Union,” the head of the ruling nationalist right-wing party, Law and Justice, said in an interview published today with the far-right Polish daily newspaper. “GPC”.

Kaczynski continues that the term “Fourth German Reich” is “nothing negative”, “because it does not relate to the Third Reich, but to the First”, i.e., the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation. If the Poles agree to such modern subordination, we will “degrade ourselves in various ways.” Kaczynski also attacked the European Court of Justice.

During the inaugural visit of Germany’s new chancellor Olaf Schulz (SPD) last week, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki criticized the goal set in the Ampel coalition agreement to develop the EU into a “federal state”: this vision resonates in the ears of a “central” Poland. Bureaucracy – this is a utopia and a dangerous city.”

The European Union has been at odds with Warsaw since 2017 over its controversial judicial reform. PiS is accused, among other things, of appointing pro-government judges to the Constitutional Court and creating a disciplinary chamber to discipline critical judges. The EU Commission has therefore initiated various violations procedures, some of which have resulted in lawsuits before the European Court of Justice.