The mayor of Świnoujście, Janusz Żmurkiewicz, has commented on the activism of German politicians against the planned container terminal in Świnoujście on Facebook. In his post, he assumes that our interest in the project is due to the upcoming federal elections and denounces the media for allegedly “depicting only the viewpoint of German politicians” on the topic without further comment. This accusation is, of course, ridiculous: not only because I have been campaigning against the project for a long time, but also because I have already asked Janusz Żmurkiewicz for a meeting several times over the last year and a half. Will he now be willing to meet to talk about the plans for the container port terminal?

Another procedure is currently underway to select an investor and a future terminal operator. Bids will be opened from 1st March next year. It has been clear for some time that those responsible in Poland are placing the construction of the port in the full responsibility of the future private investor – and thus avoid taking on this responsibility for themselves.

The environmental impact assessment prescribed by law, which should be completed before construction begins, is still not available. Therefore, together with Helmut Scholz from the Left Party, I have commissioned an independent study to investigate the expected consequences of the port construction. Both German activists of the citizens’ initiative Lebensraum Vorpommern and Polish opponents of the port construction have submitted petitions to the European Parliament.

You can read more about the events and the accusations of the city president in this article from the Ostsee Zeitung.