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The Polish pair were winched to a helicopter and flown to hospital, but later died.
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Euractiv
42 minutes ago
- Euractiv
Warsaw woes: How Germany wants to fix its toxic relationship with Poland
BERLIN – Germany's new coordinator for relations with Poland, Knut Abraham, had been in office for just three days when his job got a lot harder. On the night of 1 June, the Christian Democrat MP stayed up late listening to radio coverage of Poland's presidential election until he unwittingly fell asleep. Exit polls projected a narrow victory for Rafał Trzaskowski, backed by centrist Prime Minister Donald Tusk, an ally of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. But when Abraham woke up, the final count confirmed the far-right nominee, Karol Nawrocki, as the winner. Abraham's first thought was: 'This will be a challenge, for the German-Polish relations as well." It's him who has to confront it. As coordinator, Abraham will support one of Merz's core European policy goals: repairing a relationship that is both essential for Europe's security architecture and deeply fraught. Abraham says his government has ideas on how to get there. And nothing, it seems, is off the table. History still hurts Germany and Poland are not only the largest economies on either side of the EU's east-west divide; they are also two of Europe's top military spenders and key backers of Ukraine against Russia's invasion. Yet the Nazi occupation of Poland, which claimed over five million Polish lives, remains an open wound. Germany's refusal to pay reparations is routinely weaponised by Poland's nationalist Law and Order party (PiS), which backed Nawrocki. Being too lenient towards Berlin can thus be a political risk in Polish politics. This week, the Polish foreign office fired Abraham's Polish counterpart and scrapped the position altogether over rumours that the incumbent had proposed a seminar on returning cultural objects left behind by expelled Germans in 1945. Merz has vowed to be "empathetic towards our eventful history" and "end the speechlessness between Berlin and Warsaw," which he blamed on the preceding government. But his own decision to close Germany's border to asylum-seekers once in office fuelled the flames and handed new talking points to Poland's far right. Germany's move to block entry to irregular migrants led to the spread of false rumours that German police were systematically pushing asylum-seekers into Poland. In response, Poland has instated checks of its own, capping a botched start for Merz's German-Polish reset. The price to pay Abraham, who served as an envoy at the German embassy in Warsaw for three years, admitted that the border issue is proving a major burden for the relationship. But he insists that the temporary checks also 'signal a change in Germany's migration policy that aligns more closely with Poland's position,' he said, adding that he 'encountered a lot of understanding' from Polish officials. That is the key priority for him: 'The most important thing is to restore trust," Abraham said, adding that the new government was 'already integrating Poland at a level of intensity that the previous government did not demonstrate'. Merz notably became the first chancellor to visit Warsaw on his first day in office, and took a trip with Tusk and the leaders of France and Britain to Kyiv three days later. A joint cabinet meeting is being prepared for this year, and the signing of a bilateral friendship treaty in 2026 is on the table. But more importantly, Abraham says that the government has resumed negotiations over a goodwill package that Merz's predecessor, Olaf Scholz, had been working on before they collapsed last year over withholding funding. The package also included investments in Poland's security. Warsaw took that "as an affront and proof of German disinterest", he said, adding that the Germans ultimately failed "to develop genuine joint initiatives based on Polish priorities, including security, external border protection, and cyber security." According to Abraham, the government is also taking seriously the Polish desire to get Germany's support on security matters. Warsaw shares 1,310 kilometres of border with Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, protected by a military bulwark, the so-called East Shield. But Germany first consistently underestimated the threat from Russia, then Scholz's government blocked Polish initiatives for joint EU funding for Europe's eastern flank, to Warsaw's dismay. It is no longer off limits: Abraham said that Germany "should be very receptive" if Poland asked for financial support to beef up its Eastern frontier. PiS and pragmatism The election of a PiS-backed president, who was inaugurated on Wednesday, has complicated Berlin's plans, however. His victory means that Tusk's policy agenda will mostly be blocked by a hostile president ahead of the 2027 national elections. Abraham notes that this has all but kicked off the Polish campaign, with Tusk now forced to focus on messaging, which includes being cautious about cooperating with Berlin. After all, Nawrocki has previously railed against Germany, while Tusk has also faced personal smear campaigns over his grandfather's forced service in the German Wehrmacht. But the German coordinator tries to be pragmatic: Nawrocki's victory won't change anything substantive about the relationship, he said, adding that Nawrocki's predecessor was also PiS-backed and had stood by Poland's EU membership, NATO integration, and support for Ukraine. Germany won't be able to "expect applause at all times" for his offers of cooperation, he said. But if they "reflect a clear desire for friendship and partnership ... I'm positive that they will elicit the right resonance in the Polish debate". (mm)
The Sun
5 hours ago
- The Sun
Barcelona strip Ter Stegen of captain's armband
BARCELONA on Thursday said they had stripped Marc-Andre ter Stegen of the captain's armband in a continuing dispute over the German goalkeeper's fitness status. 'As a consequence of the disciplinary proceedings initiated against player Marc-Andre ter Stegen, and until such proceedings are definitively resolved, the club... has decided to temporarily remove him as captain of the first football team,' Barca said in a statement. They said vice-captain Ronald Araujo, a Uruguayan defender, would take over. According to local media, the dispute centres on 33-year-old Ter Stegen's refusal to cooperate with an attempt to have him classified by La Liga as a long-term injury case, which would allow the club to deduct part of his pay from their official wage bill. With the new Liga season approaching, Barcelona are again struggling to satisfy Spanish financial fair play rules. If they cannot, they may not be able to register new players. The club plans to partly reopen its expensively renovated Camp Nou stadium this month. After two seasons marred by injury, Ter Stegen decided to undergo back surgery at the end of July. He has refused to sign a form releasing his medical data to La Liga, preventing Barcelona's attempt to have him officially declared a long-term absentee. His place is under threat from one of the summer signings, 24-year-old Joan Garcia, and 35-year-old Wojciech Szczesny, the Polish veteran who has been rewarded with a contract extension for taking over during last season's Liga title-winning campaign. The German goalkeeper, the last remaining member of Luis Enrique's 2015 European champion team, faces heavy penalties under La Liga regulations, including the termination of his contract. - AFP
The Advertiser
5 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Poland's prettiest city: Krakow v Warsaw in the ultimate city smackdown
Wawel Royal Castle in Krakow. Picture: Shuttertock By Amy Cooper and Mal Chenu Updated August 8 2025 - 9:57am, first published 8:00am Both carry the scars of a brutal history, but their charm and beauty shine through. Is Krakow truly the belle of the Baltic-or does Warsaw's gritty resilience win the day? Its a tough one, but our duelling experts can help you decide. Subscribe now for unlimited access. or signup to continue reading All articles from our website The digital version of Today's Paper All other in your area KRAKOW: Amy says go medieval or go home Warsaw, what is it good for? Mal's about to tell you, but even his shiniest Polish polish can't disguise the truth: when it comes to scenic superiority, these two cities are Poles apart. While Krakow escaped WWII with its beautiful historical buildings intact, the German blitzkrieg razed poor Warsaw. And then afterwards, the city's Soviet-era rebuild took its aesthetic cues from Stalin, a man who never met a bleak brutalist block he didn't like, thought walls were just for hiding microphones in and whose main contribution to architectural design was his own face. Eyesore Warsaw? That's a bit strong, but let's just say that Paris and Prague have nothing to fear. They should, however, tremble before gorgeous Krakow, effortlessly out-prettying Europe's grandest old cities with its medieval magnificence, fairytale castles, soaring spires and cobblestoned charm. Krakow's Old Town is a massed gathering of masterpieces from the past 1000 years, where Renaissance, Baroque, Gothic, palaces, mansions and churches jostle for your attention around the giant Market Square, one of the largest medieval town squares in Europe. Its original centrepiece, the glorious Cloth Hall, dates back some 600 years and could well be the world's oldest shopping centre. Across the square, the twin towers of St Mary's Basilica crown an interior extravaganza of arches, carvings, statues, gold for days and a star-bedazzled blue ceiling. Medieval Wawel Royal Castle stands guard up on the hill, complete with a dragon's den - once home to the fire-breathing beast defeated by 8th-century ruler King Krak. Today the city's name still celebrates the legendary hero who told the dragon to Krak off. The Old Town alone could enchant you for days, crammed as it is with historical sites and art. But there's so much more to see that even if you were up at the Krakow dawn every day, you'd still struggle to squeeze everything in. Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory is a museum telling his story alongside Poland's Nazi invasion in dense and devastating detail, and the Pharmacy Under the Eagle commemorates its owner Tadeusz Pankiewicz, who risked life and limb to help residents of the Jewish ghetto. There's a subterranean museum hidden four metres below Market Square where genuine archaeological digs include medieval cemeteries complete with the funereal fashion of the time - anti-vampire burials. Even farther down and just outside town, Cracow Saltworks Museum has underground chapels and lakes along with salt sculptures and chambers in a giant, labyrinthine salt mine 1000 years old and deeper than the Eiffel Tower's height. And although it sounds like it was named by a toddler, Planty Park is most certainly planty - a four-kilometre necklace of verdant gardens encircling the Old Town and made for strolls amid fountains and flowers. Verdict: Stunning but never shallow, Krakow takes Pole position in this Slavic showdown. WARSAW: Mal says resilience is beautiful In the dictionary listing for "resilience", there's a picture of Warsaw. If you ever wanted to visit a city that literally rose from the ashes, this is your guy. Warsaw's meticulously rebuilt Old Town. Picture: Getty Images Two World War II events define the character of Warsaw. Against impossible odds, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising by Jewish resistance in 1943, and the Warsaw Uprising in 1944 by the general populace were heroic and ill-fated slaps at the brutal Nazi occupation. As a German report stated: "The resistance fought to the very last bullet." After the uprisings were put down, Hitler ordered the ghetto - and then the city - to be razed. By January 1945, 85 per cent of the city had been destroyed. The horrors and bravery of these seminal events are articulated at the Warsaw Rising Museum, one of the city's most popular and poignant attractions, and by the Warsaw Uprising Monument in Krasinski Square, among others. Ravaged by six years of war, the exhausted Varsovians set about rebuilding. The city's Old Town was returned to its former glory using paintings and records. The Old Town dates back to the 13th century, so this was quite a reno. Now a World Heritage Site, the Old Town's stunning squares were carefully re-created. Sprawling Castle Square features Royal Castle and Sigismund's Column, which commemorates the national hero responsible for moving the capital of Poland from Krakow to Warsaw. Old Market Square hosts the Museum of Warsaw, a pretty wall sundial and a bronze statue of Syrenka, the "Mermaid of Warsaw". Syrenka has been the city's symbol and protector for centuries, and monuments and carvings of the feisty, sword-wielding, fish-tailed heroine can be seen throughout Warsaw. Another revered Varsovian heroine is Marie Curie. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person to win two and the only person to win in both physics and chemistry. Her estimable accomplishments can be studied at the Maria Sklodowska-Curie Museum, housed in the tenement where she was born. Royal Baths Park occupies 76 hectares in the centre of Warsaw, and you can hear free piano concerts in front of the Fryderik Chopin Monument every Sunday. A little way down the Royal Route, Wilanow Palace and its adjoining 45-hectare park is filled with furnishings, and art retrieved and reinstalled after the war. All this is just a sampling of the myriad treasures awaiting you in the Polish capital. Krakow is a mere fraction of Warsaw, and indeed Australia - Krakow has a Kosciuszko but theirs is a 35-metre-high artificial mound. It also has a salt mine, which is symbolic of the work Amy has to do spruiking the clear runner-up in this Polish polemic. Verdict: Gritty, gutsy and gloriously reborn, Warsaw is the comeback queen of Europe.
