European integration was one of two priorities, the other being NATO accession, that Poland had been pursuing since the communist party’s monopoly on power was broken in the aftermath of the 1989 elections. The communist bloc was collapsing around it; Germany was undergoing reunification; and successive Soviet republics declared their independence. After five decades of first enduring the brutality and wholesale destruction of World War II and then being an unwilling satellite state within the Soviet empire, Poland was determined to fulfill its aspiration of allying itself with Western democracies and catching up with the rest of the civilized world.
The process was a long one, but while trying to rebuild democratic institutions and a free market in their country, Poles kept their eyes on the ball and slowly but methodically strived toward the greater goal of rejoining their spot in the European family.
Poland lunged at the opportunity created by the collapse of communism and worked vigorously toward the two goals throughout the 1990s. On March 12, 1999, Poland officially became a member of NATO, firmly planting one foot in the Euroatlantic community.
To fully become a part of it (most NATO members are also part of the EU, and vice versa), Poland had to complete the goal of integrating with Europe. Achieving that took years of diplomatic efforts and negotiations, as well as numerous reforms that would align the country with Europe’s democratic values—a gargantuan task considering the damage done to Polish institutions, its legal system, and the mindset of Poles themselves by decades spent under the communist regime. What was important throughout the process was that Poland marched toward that goal regardless of internal political shifts, and the objective of becoming a part of Europe was shared by successive Polish governments, whether right- or left-wing, liberal or conservative.
ESTABLISHING RELATIONS
Appointing an ambassador to the European Communities ( three international organizations governed by the same set of institutions, but arguably the most important one was the European Economic Community, or EEC) and the predecessor of the European Union, was one of the first important steps toward the goal. The necessary arrangements for that purpose were already made in September 1989, just three months after the elections.
Warsaw’s first representative to the European Communities was Jan Kułakowski, who, as a teenager, fought in the Warsaw Uprising and, throughout communism, was active in the democratic opposition and free trade union movement. Kułakowski took the post on February 26, 1990, and served in the capacity of Poland’s ambassador until 1996.
Poland lunged at the opportunity created by the collapse of communism and worked vigorously toward the two goals throughout the 1990s. On March 12, 1999, Poland officially became a member of NATO, firmly planting one foot in the Euroatlantic community.
To fully become a part of it (most NATO members are also part of the EU, and vice versa), Poland had to complete the goal of integrating with Europe. Achieving that took years of diplomatic efforts and negotiations, as well as numerous reforms that would align the country with Europe’s democratic values—a gargantuan task considering the damage done to Polish institutions, its legal system, and the mindset of Poles themselves by decades spent under the communist regime. What was important throughout the process was that Poland marched toward that goal regardless of internal political shifts, and the objective of becoming a part of Europe was shared by successive Polish governments, whether right- or left-wing, liberal or conservative.
ESTABLISHING RELATIONS
Appointing an ambassador to the European Communities ( three international organizations governed by the same set of institutions, but arguably the most important one was the European Economic Community, or EEC) and the predecessor of the European Union, was one of the first important steps toward the goal. The necessary arrangements for that purpose were already made in September 1989, just three months after the elections.
Warsaw’s first representative to the European Communities was Jan Kułakowski, who, as a teenager, fought in the Warsaw Uprising and, throughout communism, was active in the democratic opposition and free trade union movement. Kułakowski took the post on February 26, 1990, and served in the capacity of Poland’s ambassador until 1996.
Less than three months later, on May 25, Poland submitted an official application to start negotiations on an Association Agreement with the European Communities. Then, on January 26, 1991, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski was appointed to be the government’s plenipotentiary for European integration and aid, a post newly created by the then Prime Minister, Jan Krzysztof Bielecki.
The Association Agreement was signed by Poland’s first democratically-elected President, Lech Wałęsa, on December 16, 1991. The Agreement was ratified by the Polish parliament on July 4 and the European Parliament on September 16. The Agreement came into force on February 1, 1994, and its parts pertaining to trade came two years earlier.
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES BECOME THE EUROPEAN UNION
While all that was going on, the 12 European Communities member states were negotiating toward closer and more cohesive integration, based around various pre-existing associations and communities created for that purpose. Signed on February 7, 1992, the Maastricht Treaty (with subsequent amendments) set up a framework for facets of integration that included the goal of creating a common currency, setting up a European Union citizenship, various other important arrangements in terms of security and the justice system, as well as such key features of the European project as freedom of travel for member states’ citizens, and expanding on the freedom of trade and services. The Maastricht Treaty came into force on November 1, 1993, officially creating the European Union. From that moment on, Poland’s European integration could be clearly defined as membership in the EU.
FRAMEWORK FOR EU ENLARGEMENT
Poland was not the only post-communist state in Central and Eastern Europe determined to achieve EU membership status. The prospect of expanding the bloc necessitated setting up criteria for prospective new members, which were defined at a European Council summit in Copenhagen on June 21–22, 1993. These “Copenhagen criteria,” which include “stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights, respect for and protection of minorities, and the existence of a functioning market economy,” serve, along with the Maastricht Treaty, as the framework for future membership and guidelines that Poland would follow from then on in order to carry out the necessary reforms.
The Association Agreement was signed by Poland’s first democratically-elected President, Lech Wałęsa, on December 16, 1991. The Agreement was ratified by the Polish parliament on July 4 and the European Parliament on September 16. The Agreement came into force on February 1, 1994, and its parts pertaining to trade came two years earlier.
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES BECOME THE EUROPEAN UNION
While all that was going on, the 12 European Communities member states were negotiating toward closer and more cohesive integration, based around various pre-existing associations and communities created for that purpose. Signed on February 7, 1992, the Maastricht Treaty (with subsequent amendments) set up a framework for facets of integration that included the goal of creating a common currency, setting up a European Union citizenship, various other important arrangements in terms of security and the justice system, as well as such key features of the European project as freedom of travel for member states’ citizens, and expanding on the freedom of trade and services. The Maastricht Treaty came into force on November 1, 1993, officially creating the European Union. From that moment on, Poland’s European integration could be clearly defined as membership in the EU.
FRAMEWORK FOR EU ENLARGEMENT
Poland was not the only post-communist state in Central and Eastern Europe determined to achieve EU membership status. The prospect of expanding the bloc necessitated setting up criteria for prospective new members, which were defined at a European Council summit in Copenhagen on June 21–22, 1993. These “Copenhagen criteria,” which include “stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights, respect for and protection of minorities, and the existence of a functioning market economy,” serve, along with the Maastricht Treaty, as the framework for future membership and guidelines that Poland would follow from then on in order to carry out the necessary reforms.
On March 7, 1994, the EU convened the first meeting of the Association Council with Poland, and less than a month later, Poland officially applied for membership in the EU. In its eagerness, Poland was getting ahead of the curve, and it was necessary for the EU to adopt a more coherent strategy on how to accommodate Poland and various other CEE nations. The European Council’s meeting in Essen on December 9–10, 1994, confirmed the will to expand the EU to the then associated countries, and also adopted the strategy for enlargement. In May and June 1995, the EC convened again, adopting a so-called “White Paper” on preparing the associated CEE countries for integration into the European Union’s internal market.
As early as 1989, the EU’s predecessor established the Poland and Hungary: Assistance for Restructuring their Economies (PHARE) program. PHARE eventually became Phare (Greek for “lighthouse”), providing similar assistance to other CEE countries aspiring to join the EU. For Poland, July 17, 1995, marked the signing of an additional protocol to the Association Agreement, enabling Poland to access and receive funding from some of the EU’s programs. The Polish parliament subsequently ratified this in late December of 1996.
INTEGRATION PICKS UP PACE
The increasing scope of the tasks Poland faced in its EU membership process meant that the government’s plenipotentiary for European integration and aid was no longer enough, as was the creation of a body dedicated to planning further reforms, preparing future cadres, and more. In August 1996, an act was passed that replaced the post of plenipotentiary with the European Integration Committee (KIE), which began operations on October 3. Prime Minister Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz became its first chair, and for most of its existence, KIE would be personally headed by the head of the government, occasionally delegating the task to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Other ministers, whose departments would need to work toward KIE’s goals, as well as three members appointed by the prime minister for their expertise, made up the rest of KIE.
Soon thereafter, on January 28, 1997, the government, on the recommendation of the largely coterminous KIE, adopted a comprehensive National Strategy for Integration that would ensure Poland fulfilled the Copenhagen criteria.
On April 2, 1997, was an altogether momentous year for Poland, the National Assembly (both houses of parliament in joint session), doubling as the Constitutional Assembly, voted on the text of a new constitution (Poland was still operating under the 1952 Polish People’s Republic with various amendments introduced since 1989), and referred it to the general public to be voted on in a May 25 referendum.
Wary of the public’s disaffection with the troubles brought about by the transition from a centrally-planned communist economy to a free market system, it was decided that, exceptionally, the 50% turnout threshold provisioned for in the new constitution itself was abandoned, and although just under 43% of the eligible voters participated, the constitution was adopted with a small but comfortable majority of 53.45% of the vote.
As early as 1989, the EU’s predecessor established the Poland and Hungary: Assistance for Restructuring their Economies (PHARE) program. PHARE eventually became Phare (Greek for “lighthouse”), providing similar assistance to other CEE countries aspiring to join the EU. For Poland, July 17, 1995, marked the signing of an additional protocol to the Association Agreement, enabling Poland to access and receive funding from some of the EU’s programs. The Polish parliament subsequently ratified this in late December of 1996.
INTEGRATION PICKS UP PACE
The increasing scope of the tasks Poland faced in its EU membership process meant that the government’s plenipotentiary for European integration and aid was no longer enough, as was the creation of a body dedicated to planning further reforms, preparing future cadres, and more. In August 1996, an act was passed that replaced the post of plenipotentiary with the European Integration Committee (KIE), which began operations on October 3. Prime Minister Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz became its first chair, and for most of its existence, KIE would be personally headed by the head of the government, occasionally delegating the task to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Other ministers, whose departments would need to work toward KIE’s goals, as well as three members appointed by the prime minister for their expertise, made up the rest of KIE.
Soon thereafter, on January 28, 1997, the government, on the recommendation of the largely coterminous KIE, adopted a comprehensive National Strategy for Integration that would ensure Poland fulfilled the Copenhagen criteria.
On April 2, 1997, was an altogether momentous year for Poland, the National Assembly (both houses of parliament in joint session), doubling as the Constitutional Assembly, voted on the text of a new constitution (Poland was still operating under the 1952 Polish People’s Republic with various amendments introduced since 1989), and referred it to the general public to be voted on in a May 25 referendum.
Wary of the public’s disaffection with the troubles brought about by the transition from a centrally-planned communist economy to a free market system, it was decided that, exceptionally, the 50% turnout threshold provisioned for in the new constitution itself was abandoned, and although just under 43% of the eligible voters participated, the constitution was adopted with a small but comfortable majority of 53.45% of the vote.
For Poland’s integration with the EU, the new constitution was important not only because it was tailored to ensure the most important law of the land would be in line with the principles set forward by the Copenhagen criteria, but most importantly, its Article 90 stated that:
“The Republic of Poland may, by virtue of international agreements, delegate to an international organization or international institution the competence of organs of State authority in relation to certain matters,” and this would require either “a two-thirds majority vote in the presence of at least half of the statutory number of [MPs, the total number of which 460], and by the Senate by a two-thirds majority vote in the presence of at least half of the statutory number of Senators [there are 100 Senators]” or that “such agreement may also be passed by a nationwide referendum [...].”
Whatever reforms Poland had to introduce in the future to meet the Copenhagen criteria now had a sound legal framework to operate on, and with so much progress having been made, at an EC summit in Luxembourg on December 12 and 13, 1997, the decision was made to open negotiations with six CEE countries that were dubbed the Luxembourg Group: Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Estonia, and Cyprus.
The first conference between all the then-member states and candidate states that concluded association agreements with the EU was held on March 12, 1998, in London. On March 31, the negotiations officially opened in Brussels after a “screening” process that ascertained Poland’s national laws were in alignment with EU laws.
“The Republic of Poland may, by virtue of international agreements, delegate to an international organization or international institution the competence of organs of State authority in relation to certain matters,” and this would require either “a two-thirds majority vote in the presence of at least half of the statutory number of [MPs, the total number of which 460], and by the Senate by a two-thirds majority vote in the presence of at least half of the statutory number of Senators [there are 100 Senators]” or that “such agreement may also be passed by a nationwide referendum [...].”
Whatever reforms Poland had to introduce in the future to meet the Copenhagen criteria now had a sound legal framework to operate on, and with so much progress having been made, at an EC summit in Luxembourg on December 12 and 13, 1997, the decision was made to open negotiations with six CEE countries that were dubbed the Luxembourg Group: Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Estonia, and Cyprus.
The first conference between all the then-member states and candidate states that concluded association agreements with the EU was held on March 12, 1998, in London. On March 31, the negotiations officially opened in Brussels after a “screening” process that ascertained Poland’s national laws were in alignment with EU laws.
This London summit was shortly followed by the adoption on March 16, 1998), of the first batch of documents necessary to extend further financial assistance to the aspiring members, including a new edition of Phare, as well as the Special Accession Program for Agriculture and Rural Development (SAPARD) to help them deal with the problems of structural adjustment in their agricultural sectors and rural areas, and the Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-Accession (ISPA), which provides assistance for infrastructural projects in environment and transport, considered the EU’s priorities.
ACCESSION PARTNERSHIP
On March 26 of that year, Jan Kułakowski, Poland's first ambassador to the EU, was appointed to serve in the newly established role of the government’s plenipotentiary to negotiate Poland’s EU membership. Three days later, on March 27, a negotiation team was put together, and on the homefront, the required National Accession Partnership Program (NPCC) was adopted in late June, which factored in the European Commission’s recommendations as “the areas in which the candidate country needs to make progress in the short and medium term, based on the accession criteria,” as well as provided for “pre-accession assistance, which involves financial and technical help to support economic and political reforms in the candidate country, preparing them for the rights and obligations that come with EU membership.”
The prospective membership expansion (which now, aside from Poland and the other five states of the Luxembourg Group, also included Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, and Malta) posed challenges to the EU itself. In 2000, the bloc counted 15 members and was looking to expand to include 25, and in short order, 27 (Romania, Bulgaria) countries. This necessitated that the structure of procedures of the various legislative and executive bodies, especially the European Commission and the Council of the European Union, be amended to attempt to maintain a balance between representativeness (according to population) and an equal say in decision-making that member states ought to enjoy in the bloc. Deserving a separate and extensive explanation in itself, the Treaty of Nice (drafted on December 11, 2000, signed on February 26, 2001, and effective on February 1, 2003, with subsequent amendments made in 2007 in Lisbon) has served as the framework for the decision-making process within the EU since. The most important provision of the Treaty included granting more competencies to the European Parliament and, for the time being, setting the number of EU Commissioners (who can be roughly compared to ministers in a cabinet) to be equal to that of the number of member states and ensuring that country is represented by a commissioner, although the commissioners are tasked with representing the EU at large and not their individual states.
Further adjustments may be necessary for countries of the Western Balkans, Georgia and Armenia in the Southern Caucasus, Moldova, and (in a hard-to-define time frame) Ukraine.
ACCESSION PARTNERSHIP
On March 26 of that year, Jan Kułakowski, Poland's first ambassador to the EU, was appointed to serve in the newly established role of the government’s plenipotentiary to negotiate Poland’s EU membership. Three days later, on March 27, a negotiation team was put together, and on the homefront, the required National Accession Partnership Program (NPCC) was adopted in late June, which factored in the European Commission’s recommendations as “the areas in which the candidate country needs to make progress in the short and medium term, based on the accession criteria,” as well as provided for “pre-accession assistance, which involves financial and technical help to support economic and political reforms in the candidate country, preparing them for the rights and obligations that come with EU membership.”
The prospective membership expansion (which now, aside from Poland and the other five states of the Luxembourg Group, also included Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, and Malta) posed challenges to the EU itself. In 2000, the bloc counted 15 members and was looking to expand to include 25, and in short order, 27 (Romania, Bulgaria) countries. This necessitated that the structure of procedures of the various legislative and executive bodies, especially the European Commission and the Council of the European Union, be amended to attempt to maintain a balance between representativeness (according to population) and an equal say in decision-making that member states ought to enjoy in the bloc. Deserving a separate and extensive explanation in itself, the Treaty of Nice (drafted on December 11, 2000, signed on February 26, 2001, and effective on February 1, 2003, with subsequent amendments made in 2007 in Lisbon) has served as the framework for the decision-making process within the EU since. The most important provision of the Treaty included granting more competencies to the European Parliament and, for the time being, setting the number of EU Commissioners (who can be roughly compared to ministers in a cabinet) to be equal to that of the number of member states and ensuring that country is represented by a commissioner, although the commissioners are tasked with representing the EU at large and not their individual states.
Further adjustments may be necessary for countries of the Western Balkans, Georgia and Armenia in the Southern Caucasus, Moldova, and (in a hard-to-define time frame) Ukraine.
2001 was spent on further fine-tuning how the EU should operate under the enlarged formula and the first attempts at drafting a constitution for the European Union. The prospect of such a document remains elusive, as its supporters see it as necessary to maintain the efficiency of the decision-making process in the ever-growing bloc, while its detractors see it as an attempt to create a federalized Europe. The argument between the competing ideas for the future of the EU, i.e., a Europe of Nations vs. a Nation of Europe, continues to be a bone of contention between the “Eurosceptics” and “Euroenthusiasts.”
THE FINAL LAP
For Poland specifically, 2001 marked the signing of an agreement regarding the SAPARD program. The agreement was signed on January 25, but the Polish parliamentary elections on September 23 upset that cozy arrangement.
The new government, a coalition of the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) and the centrist and agrarian Polish People’s Party (PSL), was not happy with certain provisions of the agreement, including the milk quotas (limits on diary output, a particular peeve for the PSL), as well as, e.g., work restrictions for Polish nurses. Determined to obtain better conditions for Poland (and, as he later admitted, fearing that a failure to do so would result in a collapse of the coalition government), Poland’s Prime Minister Leszek Miller (SLD) flew to Copenhagen, the same place where the criteria for membership were fixed eight years earlier, and turned what was expected to be a display of mutual back-patting into a last-ditch effort to obtain better conditions for Poland’s accession.
According to reports, the EU establishment was taken aback by this, and it was even suggested that if Poland was not ready to accept the terms as they were, it could join the EU at a later date, but Miller would not budge, and EU leaders knew that what was to be the most ambitious enlargement of the bloc to date could not happen without Poland on board.
On October 9, 2002, the European Commission announced the date Poland would accede to the European Union. It was scheduled for May 1, 2004.
There were still some issues left open. Although the Maastricht Treaty provides for the free movement of individuals, individual states can impose temporary restrictions on access to their respective labor markets. Many of the new member states struggled with unemployment, while some of the older ones suffered from labor shortages. On top of that, all “Old EU” countries except for the UK, Ireland, and Sweden introduced some restrictions on the employment of workers from the ten new members of the club.
Poland adopted a reciprocal approach, allowing the new members to enact their own legislation in that regard. This eventually resulted in a spike in the number of foreign workers from the new member states (Poland chief among them) in the three countries in question, but by 2011, all the restrictions would be lifted.
THE FINAL LAP
For Poland specifically, 2001 marked the signing of an agreement regarding the SAPARD program. The agreement was signed on January 25, but the Polish parliamentary elections on September 23 upset that cozy arrangement.
The new government, a coalition of the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) and the centrist and agrarian Polish People’s Party (PSL), was not happy with certain provisions of the agreement, including the milk quotas (limits on diary output, a particular peeve for the PSL), as well as, e.g., work restrictions for Polish nurses. Determined to obtain better conditions for Poland (and, as he later admitted, fearing that a failure to do so would result in a collapse of the coalition government), Poland’s Prime Minister Leszek Miller (SLD) flew to Copenhagen, the same place where the criteria for membership were fixed eight years earlier, and turned what was expected to be a display of mutual back-patting into a last-ditch effort to obtain better conditions for Poland’s accession.
According to reports, the EU establishment was taken aback by this, and it was even suggested that if Poland was not ready to accept the terms as they were, it could join the EU at a later date, but Miller would not budge, and EU leaders knew that what was to be the most ambitious enlargement of the bloc to date could not happen without Poland on board.
On October 9, 2002, the European Commission announced the date Poland would accede to the European Union. It was scheduled for May 1, 2004.
There were still some issues left open. Although the Maastricht Treaty provides for the free movement of individuals, individual states can impose temporary restrictions on access to their respective labor markets. Many of the new member states struggled with unemployment, while some of the older ones suffered from labor shortages. On top of that, all “Old EU” countries except for the UK, Ireland, and Sweden introduced some restrictions on the employment of workers from the ten new members of the club.
Poland adopted a reciprocal approach, allowing the new members to enact their own legislation in that regard. This eventually resulted in a spike in the number of foreign workers from the new member states (Poland chief among them) in the three countries in question, but by 2011, all the restrictions would be lifted.
On March 19, 2003, the European Parliament accepted the report drawn up by a dedicated commission regarding the EU’s enlargement, and on April 9, it voted in favor of accepting the ten new members, including Poland, followed by the Council of the European Union’s consent, and, finally, the Accession Treaty being signed in Athens on April 16.
There was one final thing to deal with, and that was Poland ratifying the Treaty of Athens. As per the previously mentioned 1997 constitution, this would have to be done either by a supermajority vote in favor in both houses of parliament or by a binding (turnout exceeding 50%) referendum.
In an unprecedented move made to ensure that the minimum turnout requirement of 50% was met, the 2003 referendum was conducted over two days, June 7 and 8, a Saturday and a Sunday (Sunday is the usual day to schedule elections and referenda in Poland). The vote was overwhelmingly in favor (more than 77%), with a turnout of nearly 59%. This ratifies Poland’s accession to the EU.
Shortly before Poland officially became an EU member state in mid-May 2004, Danuta Hübner, who had previously worked i.a. as the Secretary of KIE and served as a minister-without-portfolio tasked with managing matters of European integration, was accepted by the European Parliament to serve as the first Polish commissioner of the European Commission.
On May 1, 2004, in the largest-to-date enlargement of the European Union, 10 new countries, most of them former Soviet satellites or Soviet republics, became members. In terms of population, Poland was the largest of them all.
On June 13, that year, the Poles first elected their representatives to the European Parliament, but that belongs to an entirely different story: Poland’s 20 years as a member of the European Union.
May 1, 2004, was the crowning achievement of a decade-and-a-half of efforts. Now a member of both NATO and the European Union, Poland stood with both feet in the West. But Poland never forgot why its European integration was so important from a geostrategic point of view, not only for itself but also for surrounding post-communist countries, and as the 5th most populous country in the bloc post-Brexit, which gives it considerable sway in European politics, it continues to serve as a regional leader and a champion for the interests of other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, as well as an advocate for further eastern expansion of the EU, to include Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, and last but not least, Ukraine.
And as for the Poles themselves, whatever challenges are brought about by the daunting task of balancing the interests of 27 member states, of which Poland is only one, it is clear to them that the benefits outweigh the costs. Surveys show that support for Poland being a member of the EU remains consistently above 80% (occasionally exceeding 90%).
There was one final thing to deal with, and that was Poland ratifying the Treaty of Athens. As per the previously mentioned 1997 constitution, this would have to be done either by a supermajority vote in favor in both houses of parliament or by a binding (turnout exceeding 50%) referendum.
In an unprecedented move made to ensure that the minimum turnout requirement of 50% was met, the 2003 referendum was conducted over two days, June 7 and 8, a Saturday and a Sunday (Sunday is the usual day to schedule elections and referenda in Poland). The vote was overwhelmingly in favor (more than 77%), with a turnout of nearly 59%. This ratifies Poland’s accession to the EU.
Shortly before Poland officially became an EU member state in mid-May 2004, Danuta Hübner, who had previously worked i.a. as the Secretary of KIE and served as a minister-without-portfolio tasked with managing matters of European integration, was accepted by the European Parliament to serve as the first Polish commissioner of the European Commission.
On May 1, 2004, in the largest-to-date enlargement of the European Union, 10 new countries, most of them former Soviet satellites or Soviet republics, became members. In terms of population, Poland was the largest of them all.
On June 13, that year, the Poles first elected their representatives to the European Parliament, but that belongs to an entirely different story: Poland’s 20 years as a member of the European Union.
May 1, 2004, was the crowning achievement of a decade-and-a-half of efforts. Now a member of both NATO and the European Union, Poland stood with both feet in the West. But Poland never forgot why its European integration was so important from a geostrategic point of view, not only for itself but also for surrounding post-communist countries, and as the 5th most populous country in the bloc post-Brexit, which gives it considerable sway in European politics, it continues to serve as a regional leader and a champion for the interests of other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, as well as an advocate for further eastern expansion of the EU, to include Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, and last but not least, Ukraine.
And as for the Poles themselves, whatever challenges are brought about by the daunting task of balancing the interests of 27 member states, of which Poland is only one, it is clear to them that the benefits outweigh the costs. Surveys show that support for Poland being a member of the EU remains consistently above 80% (occasionally exceeding 90%).
Source: TVP WORLD, ec.europa.eu
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