https://harici.com.tr/almanya-polonya-gerilimi-tusk-potsdam-ziyaretini-iptal-etti/
Germany-Poland tension: Tusk canceled his visit to Potsdam
Almanya-Polonya gerilimi: Tusk, Potsdam ziyaretini iptal etti
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk canceled his planned visit to Germany this week after relations between the two countries deteriorated.
According to the German M100 Sanssouci Colloquium organization, Tusk would go to Potsdam to receive the M100 Media Award, which is given to "personalities committed to democracy, freedom of _expression_ and press and strengthening European understanding".
However, Tusk canceled his trip at the last moment, citing his internal affairs, and Justice Minister Adam Bodnar will travel instead. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is expected to make a speech in honor of Tusk, will not attend the ceremony.
The organizers said, “We deeply regret that Chancellor Olaf Scholz had to cancel his participation in the M100 Media Award due to conflicts in his schedule. Prime Minister Donald Tusk will not be able to attend the ceremony in person due to his important national commitments," it was said.
Viosa Osmani would also be awarded with Tusk
Former German President Joachim Gauck and former German Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping will give speeches in the program.
Previous M100 Media Award winners include the Women's Freedom of Life Movement in Iran, the Ukrainian people, Aleksey Navalny and Mario Draghi.
Tusk, whom Potsdam Mayor Mike Schubert previously described as “an important defender of our democratic, free society”, would receive an award along with Kosovo President Viosa Osmani.
Schubert said Tusk was honoured for his "tireless struggle against the autocracy," while Osmani would be honoured for his "determination and foresight to defend a young democracy in a region where conflicts have been going on for a long time."
Is the reason for the North Stream investigation?
The exact reason for Tusk's decision to cancel his trip to Germany and it remains unclear whether Tusk or Scholz was the first to cancel.
German-Poland relations had hit rock bottom under the rule of Law and Justice (PiS), whose policies were often guided by anti-Germanism. These relations were expected to improve with Tusk's coming to power.
Tusk, who was of partly German origin (his grandmother was German) and once known for his friendship with former Chancellor Angela Merkel, was often accused by PiS of being a “servant of Berlin”.
But the bilateral relationship between Warsaw and Berlin has become colder in recent weeks. According to sources with information about the subject, the main reason for this coldness is the issue of Northern Stream pipelines.
The request for the arrest of a Ukrainian citizen living in Poland, suspected of causing Berlin's Nord Stream 2 sabotage, was rejected by Poland, and Tusk even addressed Germany last month, telling “all entrepreneurs and supporters of North Stream 1 and 2” that “the only thing they have to do today is to apologize and remain silent.”