Polish Deputy Infrastructure Minister Marek Gróbarczyk has accused Germany of trying to block the construction of the Polish container port in Świnoujście using environmental grounds when the real reasons have to do with German trading interests.
Speaking on Polish radio, Gróbarczyk commented on the German opposition to the construction of the container port in the northwest of Poland.
He said that the Germans were consistently trying to block it and that the only guarantee it would be built lies in the re-election of Poland’s current conservative government later this year. Gróbarczyk said he was convinced that if the opposition wins, they will block the project.
According to the minister, the reasons for Germany’s determination to block the construction of the port are due to their fear of competition for their port in Hamburg, which is dominant in the Baltic region with regard to containers.
He feels that Germany is just using environmental concerns to attempt to block the construction of the port. This is why Germany is questioning the deepening of the approach to the port in Świnoujście on environmental grounds and raising scores of other issues.
Poland and Germany are at loggerheads over a number of environmental issues.
The Germans are opposing Polish attempts to make the Oder River navigable again. They are also opposed to Poland stationing any nuclear power stations in the Pomerania region near the German border, and have been involved in attempts to stop the extraction of lignite in Turów, southwest Poland.
