EU enlargement from the Polish perspective

Abstract

The article presents the issue of Poland's integration with the European Union (EU) in a historical perspective and highlights the current problems of combining the parallel processes of transformation (political, economic and social) and integration with the EU. The example of the Polish ancestors of the European movement are mentioned as well as the struggle to regain a place in the united Europe, from which Poland was cut off as a result of the Yalta Agreement. It is stressed that there is no alternative to economic integration with the EU - as the deep trade diversion after 1989 has shown. The eastern enlargement of the EU will create a large zone of economic stability in Europe, from which western business has already been benefiting, as data on foreign direct investment (FDI) and Poland's huge balance of trade deficit with the EU show. The free (with some exceptions) movement of goods between parties resulting from the Europe Agreement has helped to create new jobs in the EU (especially in Germany, the main trading partner). The strategic goal of security was attained by joining NATO in spring 1999, transatlantic integration being the strongest guarantee of European security as the Yugoslav crisis has shown. EU membership is a much more demanding task than association. It requires a candidate country, still in the process of transition, taking on board the whole body of the acquis communautaire. On the EU side, it will mean transfers from the EU budget of the maximum amounts limited to 4 per cent of the beneficiary's GDP, as Agenda 2000 envisages. The transfers depend on new trends in common policies. The article stresses that approximation of legislation is difficult as the EU acquis is itself in the process of constant change ('a moving target in the fog', as one British author put it). There is a risk that too rapid implementation may lead to losing the momentum of the Polish economy's dynamic growth in a time of growing global interdependence. The greatest obstacles on the EU side may be those of a financial nature. The article stresses that, while the costs of enlargement are public (borne by the EU budget), the benefits are private as they are gained by the businesses already in the region. The EU's eastern enlargement is a difficult task owing to large disparities (in terms of GDP per capita, legislation, infrastructure). The greatest danger, however, may be that the issue has slipped down the agenda of EU priorities with the new political coalitions in power. The spirit of Jean Monnet is missing in Europe.