War reparations. Dariusz Rosati on TVN24

On Tuesday, the first intergovernmental consultations between Poland and the EU since 2018 were held at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister. Germanswidely seen as a new beginning in their relationship.

At a joint conference with the Prime Minister Donald Tusk German Chancellor Olaf Scholz He said that Germany is aware of “its great guilt and responsibility for the million victims of the German occupation” and “will try to provide support” for the survivors.

However, the details of this support and the number of its recipients are unknown – previously unofficially estimated at around 40-50 thousand people.

Dariusz Rosati, when asked whether the issue of reparations is currently being resolved in any way, replied that “certainly not in the formula proposed by PiS”.

– Approach PIS and Jaroslaw Kaczynski guaranteed that nothing would be done. Let us remember that from the point of view of international law, the matter is practically closed. The decisions taken in Potsdam practically excluded Poland from direct reparations from Germany. We were supposed to receive part of the reparations received from the USSR. Then, however, the Soviet Union imposed on us the decision in 1953 to waive reparations towards Germany. It was an empty decision, because our claims were towards Moscow, not Berlin, because that was what the Allies had decided – he said.

– I understand, and we have always said that there is room for redress on ethical, moral and political grounds. Chancellor Scholz confirmed this in Warsaw, that the Germans are fully aware of their responsibility and guilt for what happened during World War II and are ready to redress the victims of that war. The question of how this is to take place and in what form can be the subject of talks – he said.

He noted, however, that “what we heard from PiS politicians, that there would be some tribunal in the world that would order the Germans to pay 6 trillion złoty, is of course pure fiction”. – It was like an initiative that was never supposed to lead to us receiving any money – emphasized Anita Werner's guest.

– The results of the talks open up certain possibilities for those who are still alive to receive money. Of course, this is not trillions of zlotys, but as Prime Minister Tusk rightly noted, there is no amount of money that would compensate the Polish nation for the suffering it suffered during World War II – said Rosati.

– I think that today's entire conference, the start of talks after several years of complete blockade in Polish-German relations, also opens up possibilities for Poland to demand some financial compensation – emphasized the former member of the Monetary Policy Council.

– Tusk talked about it because he said that, for example, in terms of defending Europe against the current threat from RussiaGermany, as a country that bears responsibility for the past war, should feel particularly obliged to prevent another war, Rosati said.

He also commented on the president's statement Andrzej Dudawho stated on Tuesday that he does not share the position of Prime Minister Donald Tusk that the Polish authorities have ever effectively waived the right to claims and compensation for war losses.

Rosati, asked whether the president's statement closes the possibilities that are now opening up, replied that “Mr. Duda, fortunately, will not be able to block it”. – I am surprised that President Duda is making another mistake, and as a lawyer at that. There is no possibility for Poland to pursue its claims on international law grounds, especially in the financial dimensions that have been prepared by PiS – he said.

The next topic of conversation was the abuses of the previous government related to the Justice Fund. Rosati, when asked if he was shocked by the scale of irregularities, replied that “actually not, because we have been talking about it for many years.”

– It seemed to us from the beginning that this fund was largely, if not mostly, the private money of politicians from Sovereign Poland, who were simply supposed to use it to strengthen their chances in the elections – he said.

The former minister was also asked if he had read Jarosław Kaczyński's letter. On Monday, “Gazeta Wyborcza” reported that the PiS leader wrote a letter to Zbigniew Ziobroin which he requested “an immediate ban on Solidarna Polska candidates from using the Justice Fund during the election campaign”.

– Yes. Jarosław Kaczyński's letter is not interesting because it reveals this matter. We knew about it. There have been NIK reports for several years, very critical. However, this provides evidence that the Law and Justice leadership knew about this procedure. What's more, they knew that it was illegal – he said.

– What kept Jarosław Kaczyński awake at night was how it would affect the elections and the financing of the party, i.e. the settlement of the campaign. There is not a word in this letter about the fact that it is simply against the law – he pointed out.

Anita Werner asked Dariusz Rosati whether he could imagine any charges being brought against Zbigniew Ziobro in connection with the recently disclosed information.

– Absolutely. These documents, which the prosecutor's office currently has, together with Kaczyński's letter, but also with earlier letters sent by Prime Minister Morawiecki to Zbigniew Ziobro and which have not been met with any response, are in fact ready-made prosecutorial material for pressing charges – he said.

– I generally believe that this is the biggest blow that has hit the so-called United Right at the moment. This is, in my opinion, the end of Sovereign Poland and it is a very serious problem for PiS and personally for Jarosław Kaczyński, who will be held accountable, in my opinion, to the prosecutor for not reporting the crime to the appropriate law enforcement agencies, he stated.

Dariusz Rosati also spoke about Inflation.

– We currently have inflation, as for June, at 2.6 percent and it seems to me that by the end of the year we will be around 5 percent, in the fourth quarter. This will not be a one-off effect of the tariff increase, just as it was not the effect of the VAT rate increase on April 1, but it will rather be the effect of rapidly growing wages – he assessed.

– For many months we have had double-digit wage growth with a 3 percent increase in productivity. Unfortunately, this cannot be done to maintain such a high increase in wages, which are pushed by increases minimum wage – he stated.