Highlights:

• The meeting was part of the Polish-German intergovernmental consultations chaired by Prime Minister, Donald Tusk and German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz.
• The ministry maintains a continuous dialogue with its German counterpart.
• The German-Polish cooperation on climate, energy and the environment is gaining its importance. It is coming to the fore in the European Union amid political turmoil in France. We jointly assume responsibility for the challenges facing the Union today.
• During the meeting, common priorities in the scope of environment and areas where Poland and Germany can develop bilateral cooperation were discussed. The dialogue on handling illegal waste transport continued.
• An important element of the talks was the cooperation around the Oder River - both the restoration of its ecosystem and the Lower Oder Valley National Park project on the Polish side.  

Joint challenges - local, European and global

A number of issues were raised at the subsequent bilateral meeting, such as:

• cooperation in the recovery of the Oder River ecosystem after the 2022 disaster,
• the need to work together in pursuit of new measures to protect and improve Europe's inland waters in the future financial perspective,
• the need to share experience in the scope of functioning of the dialogue with young people; it was decided to resume the cooperation of the Youth Climate Councils.

We have a lot in common, I will translate this good energy to the European scale. In view of the turmoil in France, cooperation between Poland and Germany is coming to the fore in the European Union

- concluded the Minister of Climate, Paulina Hennig-Kloska.

Cross-border nature conservation and cooperation in the scope of Oder River ecosystem

Poland continuously monitors the threat and pollution levels in the Oder River - at least once a week, an inter-ministerial team for the Oder River analyses the situation and takes appropriate anti-crisis measures.  

The government also takes systemic measures to address the original causes of the Oder 2022 disaster. They include legislative solutions, but also technical measures related to desalination.

The ongoing cross-border exchange of information has improved significantly over the recent months, with weekly reports on the current situation sent to the German party, while the Polish party receives weekly reports from the Land of Brandenburg.

I am very pleased to see the kick-off of the work performed by the German-Polish Expert Group on the Protection of the Oder, th first meeting of which was held on 12 June. I believe that it will contribute to an even more effective exchange of information and good practice to improve the condition of the Oder River

- Minister Paulina Hennig-Kloska emphasised.

Combating illegal waste transport

Both parties also engaged in discussions to find solutions to prevent illegal waste shipments.

The Polish party welcomed the planned establishment of an information exchange platform between experts dealing with illegal waste transport between Germany and Poland. Increasing cooperation in this area will certainly contribute to more effective combating of illegal waste transport in the future. Minister Paulina Hennig-Kloska also emphasised the Polish will to reach a mutually acceptable solution.

German-Polish cooperation in the scope of green transformation

As part of the Polish-German intergovernmental consultations, a meeting was also held with the Vice-Chancellor, Minister for the Economy and Climate Protection of Germany, Robert Habeck, attended by the Deputy Minister for Climate and Environment, Krzysztof Bolesta. Topics of discussion included the cooperation on green transition and renewable energy sources.