On Monday, the German government rejected Poland’s accusations that Berlin was to responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of fish in the Oder River, emphasising that there may be other reasons.
According to Andrea Kobler, a spokesman for the German Environment Ministry on German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, Berlin is astonished and saddened by Warsaw’s assertion that Germany is spreading false news in this area.
Last Saturday, Polish Environment Minister Anna Moskowa warned that more fake news is circulating in Germany, referring to reports that a German laboratory discovered substantial levels of pollutants in river water.
The causes for the death of so many fish, according to Kobler, are complicated, and Germany has never stated that pesticides were the only culprit, explaining: “It appears that there is a collection of chemicals based on the findings of our investigation, but any of those substances might be the cause.” She wouldn’t have killed those fish on her alone, therefore this was a multi-factor accident.
It is unfortunate that the Polish Ministry of Environment views the findings of a (German) laboratory research as an escape from responsibility. Kobler went on to say that study into the causes of fish deaths in the Oder River is still underway.
The German government denies responsibility for the mortality of fish in the Oder River.
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