Weimar Triangle
Encyclopedia
The term "Weimar Triangle" refers to a loose grouping of Poland
, Germany
, and France
. The group is intended to promote co-operation between the three countries. It exists mostly in the form of summit meetings
between the leaders of these three countries, the most recent of which occurred on February 7, 2011. Previous meetings took place in Poznań
, Poland (1998), Nancy, France (1999), Hambach
, Germany (2001) and Nancy, France (2005). The Weimar Triangle also involves lower-level connections, such as the annual meeting between Foreign Ministers
.
The most recent leaders' summit was hosted by President Bronisław Komorowski of Poland and attended by President Nicolas Sarkozy
(France) and Chancellor Angela Merkel
(Germany). Issues of renewing regular Weimar Triangle meetings, the Egyptian situation and improving relations with Russia were discussed (Among other topics). Both Germany and France urged Poland to join the pact for competitiveness.
The Weimar Triangle was established in the German city of Weimar
in 1991, aimed at assisting Poland's emergence from Communist
rule. Attending the meeting were the Foreign Ministers of each state: Roland Dumas
of France, Hans-Dietrich Genscher
of Germany, and Krzysztof Skubiszewski
of Poland.
Thursday, May 19, 2005, the three leaders, Schröder, Chirac and Kwaśniewski met again in the French town of Nancy to discuss EU topics.
On July 5, 2011, Poland, France, and Germany signed an agreement in Brussels to put together a unit of 1,700 soldiers, called the Weimar Combat Group, that will be ready to deploy in crisis zones starting in 2013. The EUbusiness newsletter reports that Poland will command the group, providing the core combat troops and a mechanised battalion, Germany will provide logistical support, and France will contribute medical support. The operational command centre will be based in Mont Valerien, located in a Paris suburb. .
Summit on July 3, 2006 in Weimar, Germany was postponed due to alleged indisposition of the Polish president Lech Kaczyński
.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. The group is intended to promote co-operation between the three countries. It exists mostly in the form of summit meetings
Summit (meeting)
A summit meeting is a meeting of heads of state or government, usually with considerable media exposure, tight security and a prearranged agenda.Notable summit meetings include those of Franklin D...
between the leaders of these three countries, the most recent of which occurred on February 7, 2011. Previous meetings took place in Poznań
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
, Poland (1998), Nancy, France (1999), Hambach
Hambach
Hambach may refer to:* Hambach, a city in Germany* Hambach Castle, in Germany* Hambacher Fest, a German national democratic festival celebrated from 27 May to 30 May 1832 at Hambach Castle...
, Germany (2001) and Nancy, France (2005). The Weimar Triangle also involves lower-level connections, such as the annual meeting between Foreign Ministers
Foreign minister
A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...
.
The most recent leaders' summit was hosted by President Bronisław Komorowski of Poland and attended by President Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
(France) and Chancellor Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany . Merkel, elected to the Bundestag from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000, and chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 she led a...
(Germany). Issues of renewing regular Weimar Triangle meetings, the Egyptian situation and improving relations with Russia were discussed (Among other topics). Both Germany and France urged Poland to join the pact for competitiveness.
The Weimar Triangle was established in the German city of Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
in 1991, aimed at assisting Poland's emergence from Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
rule. Attending the meeting were the Foreign Ministers of each state: Roland Dumas
Roland Dumas
Roland Dumas is a lawyer and French Socialist politician who served notably as Foreign Minister under President François Mitterrand from 1984 to 1986 and from 1988 to 1993...
of France, Hans-Dietrich Genscher
Hans-Dietrich Genscher
Hans-Dietrich Genscher is a German politician of the liberal Free Democratic Party . He served as Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor of Germany from 1974 to 1982 and, after a two-week pause, from 1982 to 1992, making him Germany's longest serving Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor...
of Germany, and Krzysztof Skubiszewski
Krzysztof Skubiszewski
Krzysztof Skubiszewski was a Polish politician, a former Minister of Foreign Affairs and an established scholar in the field of international law.Skubiszewski was born in Poznań...
of Poland.
Thursday, May 19, 2005, the three leaders, Schröder, Chirac and Kwaśniewski met again in the French town of Nancy to discuss EU topics.
On July 5, 2011, Poland, France, and Germany signed an agreement in Brussels to put together a unit of 1,700 soldiers, called the Weimar Combat Group, that will be ready to deploy in crisis zones starting in 2013. The EUbusiness newsletter reports that Poland will command the group, providing the core combat troops and a mechanised battalion, Germany will provide logistical support, and France will contribute medical support. The operational command centre will be based in Mont Valerien, located in a Paris suburb. .
Foreign ministers' summits
- 23–24 April 1992 in BergeracBergerac, DordogneBergerac is a commune and a sub-prefecture of the Dordogne department in southwestern France.-Population:-Economy:The region is primarily known for wine and tobacco...
, France - 11–12 November 1993 in WarsawWarsawWarsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Poland - 14–15 September 1994 in BambergBambergBamberg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from...
, Germany - 26 October 1995 in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France - 19 December 1996 in Warsaw, Poland
- 19 November 1997 in Frankfurt/OderFrankfurt (Oder)Frankfurt is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, located on the Oder River, on the German-Polish border directly opposite the town of Słubice which was a part of Frankfurt until 1945. At the end of the 1980s it reached a population peak with more than 87,000 inhabitants...
, Germany - 6 January 1999 in Paris, France
- 30 August 1999 in Weimar, Germany
- 7 June 2000 in KrakówKrakówKraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, Poland - June 2008 in Paris, France
- June 2009 in Weimar, Germany
Summits of heads of states
- 21 September 1993 in GdańskGdanskGdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
, Poland - 21 February 1998 in PoznańPoznanPoznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
, Poland - 7 May 1999 in Nancy, France
- 27 February 2001 in HambachHambachHambach may refer to:* Hambach, a city in Germany* Hambach Castle, in Germany* Hambacher Fest, a German national democratic festival celebrated from 27 May to 30 May 1832 at Hambach Castle...
, Germany. - 9 May 2003 in Wrocław, Poland. Held a few days before the referendum on the entry of Poland in the European Union.
- 19 May 2005 in Nancy, France
- 5 Dec 2006 in MettlachMettlachMettlach is a municipality in the district Merzig-Wadern, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the river Saar, approx. 7 km northwest of Merzig, and 30 km south of Trier.Villeroy & Boch's headquarters are in Mettlach....
, Germany - 7 Feb 2011 in WarsawWarsawWarsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Poland
Summit on July 3, 2006 in Weimar, Germany was postponed due to alleged indisposition of the Polish president Lech Kaczyński
Lech Kaczynski
Lech Aleksander Kaczyński was Polish lawyer and politician who served as the President of Poland from 2005 until 2010 and as Mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 22 December 2005. Before he became a president, he was also a member of the party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość...
.
Summits of National Defence Ministers
- 25 July 2006 in WieliczkaWieliczka-External links:***...
, Poland - 18 December 2007 in BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany