Warsaw on the Way to Kerneuropa? Germany as Poland’s Bridge to the EU’s Center

Abstract: Against the backdrop of shifting geopolitical and geostrategic considerations shaping the increasingly multi-speed European Union (EU), this paper examines the prospect of possible future closer cooperation between Poland and Germany. It is argued that a deeper German-Polish alliance in the EU could hinder the process of Warsaw being pushed to the political periphery of the Union. By focusing on Berlin, Poland could use it as a bridge to Kerneuropa, or the core of the EU. An alternative this article considers is the prospect of Poland enhancing its ties in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), and especially with the Visegrad Group (V4) of countries. In this scenario, the V4 might want to counterbalance German dominance in Europe.

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