Poland seeks to resume talks with Czech Republic on “territorial debt”

The Polish government intends to resume negotiations over territories along the border with the Czech Republic, which have been the subject of disputes between the two countries for decades.

According to Fakt, after the completion of parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic, Poland wants to restart the dialogue regarding the so-called “territorial debt.”

The issue concerns 368 hectares of land that, under agreements from the 1950s, remained on the Czech side of the border. These lands are located in the area of the Biała Woda commune and the village of Bodzanów in the Glucholazy municipality.

These territories were transferred to then-Czechoslovakia in 1958. At that time, Poland ceded 1,205 hectares to its neighbours in exchange for 837 hectares.

Poland has not yet recovered the 368-hectare difference. In 2015, the Czech government approved a list of land plots to be returned to Poland, and the Polish authorities submitted a draft border agreement. However, the process stalled when the Czech side proposed transferring the land to the Czech Church instead.

Unnamed sources from the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the publication that Warsaw plans to resume expert-level consultations. The goal will be to clarify the positions of both sides regarding how the “territorial debt” issue can be resolved.

It is noted that prior to the elections, the issue was not pursued to avoid it becoming a topic in the pre-election campaign.