Alice Weidel announced on 23 August that after taking over the power of the AfD she wanted to bring Germany out of Schengen and the euro area and close the borders. Radosław Sikorski warned against serious economical consequences for Poland on 24 August. Exports, supply chains and regular border movement are at stake.
German promise, Polish account
Alice Weidel presented in an interview with the ZDF a program that is to sound to the German electorate like regaining control: exiting the euro, leaving Schengen, closing borders and tougher migration policy. How He Reportes ZDF after Sunday SommerinterviewPresident AfD besides spoke of the ambition to govern the states and federations. It's not a niche manifesto anymore. It's a organization program that wants real power in Europe's largest economy.
Poland must look at this plan without illusion. Each state has the right to defend its own borders and its own currency, and Brussels has pretended for besides long that migration and interior safety can be resolved by declarations alone. The problem begins erstwhile a German turn is to be made at the expense of its neighbours. Permanent border control with Poland means traffic jams, delays, costs for carriers and force on trade. That is why the earlier dispute Schengen and Migration She's coming back present with a fresh force.
Schengen as a tool, not holiness
The European Commission itself recognises that interior border controls can be restored in the event of a serious threat to public policy or security, but are to be a definitive, limited and proportionate measure. This follows the EU rules described by the Commission in relation to temporary reintroduction of border controls. In another words, Schengen is not a religion. It is an instrument to service states and citizens.
Except the instrument can be dismantled in a chaotic way. If Berlin moves unilaterally from point controls to permanent closure of borders, the Polish economy will feel the effects. According to CSO data for January 2026. Germany was liable for 26.9% of Polish exports and 19.3% of imports, which shows GUS message on abroad trade turnover. This cannot be cut off by a political slogan. all hr the truck stops there are Polish companies, drivers, warehouses and wallets of families.
Sikorski warns, but the problem is wider
Radosław Sikorski estimated that permanent checks at German borders would have serious consequences besides for Poland. At this point, it is hard for him to deny the right. Germany remains the most crucial trading partner for us, and the Western border is the arterium of everyday economical life. Hitting her liquidity would be a taxation on Polish labour, although the decision would be made in Berlin.
At the same time, the Polish right hand should not be caught in a simple trap: either uncritical Schengen or uncritical delight over all decision of AfD. liable national policy begins with the question of what serves Poland. If AfD talks about migration control, it's worth listening to, due to the fact that German elites have long swept this problem under the carpet. However, if the same AfD signals a geopolitical course hitting Polish interests, 1 must respond hard. It is all the more crucial that the erstwhile statements of the leaders of this organization about relations with Russia raised reasonable caution in Warsaw, as we wrote in the declaration that Russia belongs to the powers.
Sovereignty cannot be another person's account
European integration must not mean the dictatorship of Brussels. Of course. But it is besides clear that German sovereignty cannot be built on paralyzing Polish exports or on shifting Berlin's political costs to its neighbours. Poland needs borders effective against illegal migration, not chaotic borders towards its own entrepreneurs.
Therefore, Warsaw's right answer should be cold and national. Support the real protection of the Union's external borders. Reject ideological fairy tales about a planet without control. At the same time, they require Germany to guarantee that their interior political conflict does not break up Polish supply chains. National interest is not about cheering on another parties. It's about the Poles not paying for another people's experiments.
Source: Money.pl, ZDF, European Commission, CSO.
Source: Money.
