News from Berlin – Newly elected Polish Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz paid an official visit to Berlin on October 9th. During her visit Kopacz, who became Prime Minister on September 22nd 2014, met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Chancellery. The main focus of the conference was to talk about economics, climate change, energy policy and the diplomatic situation in Ukraine.

Chancellor Angela Merkel focused on bilateral cooperation with Poland and pledged to support in the event of an attempt to enter the eurozone. Although Germany would, in the words of the Chancellor, be delighted if Poland were to further integrate into the European Union, the Polish Prime Minister stressed concern over the stability of the eurozone. Only then, she contested, would she be able to convince the Polish population of the benefits of the EU currency.

At the conference both of the representatives touched on the subject of the Ukrainian crisis. Kopacz said that Poland, as their neighbour, is in favor of Ukraine joining the European Union. She also stressed that a country like Ukraine, now in particular, requires support of the European Union to carry out reforms in various areas. Kopacz also emphasized the importance of the role of the EU in monitoring the Ukrainian parliamentary elections at the end of October this year. Merkel promised that she would endeavour to make sure that elections in Ukraine are as fair, transparent and representative as possible.

News from Berlin – Berlin Global