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Poland and the European Union
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Poland and the European Union
Poland has been a member state of the European Union since 1 May 2004, with the Treaty of Accession 2003 signed on 16 April 2003 in Athens as the legal basis for Poland's accession to the EU. The actual process of integrating Poland into the EU began with Poland's application for membership in Athens on 8 April 1994, and then the confirmation of the application by all member states in Essen from 9–10 December 1994. Poland's integration into the European Union is a dynamic and continuously ongoing process.
Diplomatic relations between Poland and the European Economic Community (EEC) were formally established on 16 September 1988, marking the beginning of Poland’s structured engagement with Western European institutions. On 19 September 1989, the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the EEC visited Warsaw, where both parties signed an agreement on trade, economic, and commercial cooperation — laying the groundwork for Poland's eventual association agreement.
Changes in Polish politics during and after 1989 allowed diplomatic talks regarding Poland's participation in the European Economic Community. Formal negotiations began on 22 December 1990, and ended on 16 December 1991, in the "European Agreement establishing an association between the Republic of Poland and the European Communities and their Member States". At the same time, along with the European Agreement, Poland signed a trade agreement included in the Interim Agreement in force from 1 March 1992.
Poland's agreement with the EEC came into force on 1 February 1994, three months after the Maastricht Treaty came into effect. The first step was the establishment of the Commission for the Unification of the Republic of Poland with the EU, whose task was to supervise the implementation of the new agreements. Talks at ministerial levels in the Polish Parliament were conducted within this commission. The Parliamentary Unification Committee acted as a forum for relations between the Polish Parliament and the European Parliament.
Even before accession negotiations began in June 1993, during a meeting of the European Council in Copenhagen, the EU Member States officially confirmed that the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, currently affiliated with the EC, will join the EU after fulfilling economic and political criteria. On 8 April 1994, the Government of the Republic of Poland made a formal request, in Athens, for membership in the European Union. During the European Council summit held in Essen on 9–10 December 1994, Member States adopted a pre-accession strategy, defining the areas and forms of cooperation recognized by the EU as essential to speed up integration. This process also confirmed that the EU was willing to go through with enlargement to associated countries. Formal confirmation of the strategy outlined in the White Paper (on the alignment of countries with the requirements of the internal free-market) which was adopted at the European Council Summit in Cannes in June 1995. The White Paper, and the annual preparatory programs adopted by the Polish government, determined the framework and the relations of Poland with the EU. On 3 October 1996, under the resolution passed by the Council of Ministers on 26 January 1991, the Office for European Integration came into force with its purpose to coordinate and assist all ministries and institutions directly involved in the process of Polish integration with the European Union. The primary role of the Office for European Integration was to ensure the implementation of the tasks related to coordinating policies on matters related to the integration of Poland into the European Union. Additionally, it was responsible for coordination of measures for the adaptation of Poland to meet European standards, as well as managing the foreign aid that Poland received from the European Union.
In January 1997 Poland adopted the National Strategy for Integration (NSI) which was passed by Parliament in May 1997. The NSI set out the specific tasks that Poland faced on the road to full EU membership and the sequence of their implementation. The NSI's role was, primarily, to accelerate and direct the work of government institutions as well as helping raise societal awareness of the possible consequences of Polish membership in the EU. The adaptation operations for membership were carried out in-line with the National Programme of Preparation for Membership in the European Union (NPPC) framework developed by the government and accepted on 23 June 1998. NPPC was annually (up to and including 2001) modified to conform with the negotiation strategies of the Polish government. It defined the ways in which to achieve the priorities contained in the Partnership for Membership document. Partnership for Membership and the National Programme of Preparation for Membership in the European Union were directly related to the European Commission's decision to provide EU funding through Phare, SAPARD and ISPA, being the three financial instruments of the European Union to assist the candidate countries in the preparation for accession.
On the basis of the recommendations contained in the opinions of the European Commission of 16 July 1997 the European Council meeting in Luxembourg on 12–13 December 1997 decided to begin accession negotiations with five countries of Central and Eastern Europe (Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia and Estonia) as well as Cyprus. For all the Central and Eastern European candidate countries, the European Council launched an enhanced pre-accession strategy, including the implementation of the European Agreements, Partnership for Membership and a new version of the PHARE program.
The EU enlargement process was formally launched at a meeting of the Council for General Affairs on 30 March 1998. At the time, Poland declared 31 December 2002 as the date of readiness for membership into the European Union. A study of the compatibility of candidate countries' current laws with EU law began on 31 March 1998 in Brussels. After the end of the study, the actual negotiations were undertaken at the same time at the request of the candidate countries, although individually with each of the candidates from 10 November 1998. From 16 April 1999, regular meetings of political directors and European correspondents of associated and EU countries began undertaking political dialogue. For the purpose of the negotiations, the EU set up 37 task forces that were responsible for developing agreements in their respective areas. The chairmen of the Polish Negotiation Team (PZN) were, successively: Jacek Saryusz-Wolski (1997-2001) and Danuta Hübner (2001-2004).
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Poland and the European Union
Poland has been a member state of the European Union since 1 May 2004, with the Treaty of Accession 2003 signed on 16 April 2003 in Athens as the legal basis for Poland's accession to the EU. The actual process of integrating Poland into the EU began with Poland's application for membership in Athens on 8 April 1994, and then the confirmation of the application by all member states in Essen from 9–10 December 1994. Poland's integration into the European Union is a dynamic and continuously ongoing process.
Diplomatic relations between Poland and the European Economic Community (EEC) were formally established on 16 September 1988, marking the beginning of Poland’s structured engagement with Western European institutions. On 19 September 1989, the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the EEC visited Warsaw, where both parties signed an agreement on trade, economic, and commercial cooperation — laying the groundwork for Poland's eventual association agreement.
Changes in Polish politics during and after 1989 allowed diplomatic talks regarding Poland's participation in the European Economic Community. Formal negotiations began on 22 December 1990, and ended on 16 December 1991, in the "European Agreement establishing an association between the Republic of Poland and the European Communities and their Member States". At the same time, along with the European Agreement, Poland signed a trade agreement included in the Interim Agreement in force from 1 March 1992.
Poland's agreement with the EEC came into force on 1 February 1994, three months after the Maastricht Treaty came into effect. The first step was the establishment of the Commission for the Unification of the Republic of Poland with the EU, whose task was to supervise the implementation of the new agreements. Talks at ministerial levels in the Polish Parliament were conducted within this commission. The Parliamentary Unification Committee acted as a forum for relations between the Polish Parliament and the European Parliament.
Even before accession negotiations began in June 1993, during a meeting of the European Council in Copenhagen, the EU Member States officially confirmed that the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, currently affiliated with the EC, will join the EU after fulfilling economic and political criteria. On 8 April 1994, the Government of the Republic of Poland made a formal request, in Athens, for membership in the European Union. During the European Council summit held in Essen on 9–10 December 1994, Member States adopted a pre-accession strategy, defining the areas and forms of cooperation recognized by the EU as essential to speed up integration. This process also confirmed that the EU was willing to go through with enlargement to associated countries. Formal confirmation of the strategy outlined in the White Paper (on the alignment of countries with the requirements of the internal free-market) which was adopted at the European Council Summit in Cannes in June 1995. The White Paper, and the annual preparatory programs adopted by the Polish government, determined the framework and the relations of Poland with the EU. On 3 October 1996, under the resolution passed by the Council of Ministers on 26 January 1991, the Office for European Integration came into force with its purpose to coordinate and assist all ministries and institutions directly involved in the process of Polish integration with the European Union. The primary role of the Office for European Integration was to ensure the implementation of the tasks related to coordinating policies on matters related to the integration of Poland into the European Union. Additionally, it was responsible for coordination of measures for the adaptation of Poland to meet European standards, as well as managing the foreign aid that Poland received from the European Union.
In January 1997 Poland adopted the National Strategy for Integration (NSI) which was passed by Parliament in May 1997. The NSI set out the specific tasks that Poland faced on the road to full EU membership and the sequence of their implementation. The NSI's role was, primarily, to accelerate and direct the work of government institutions as well as helping raise societal awareness of the possible consequences of Polish membership in the EU. The adaptation operations for membership were carried out in-line with the National Programme of Preparation for Membership in the European Union (NPPC) framework developed by the government and accepted on 23 June 1998. NPPC was annually (up to and including 2001) modified to conform with the negotiation strategies of the Polish government. It defined the ways in which to achieve the priorities contained in the Partnership for Membership document. Partnership for Membership and the National Programme of Preparation for Membership in the European Union were directly related to the European Commission's decision to provide EU funding through Phare, SAPARD and ISPA, being the three financial instruments of the European Union to assist the candidate countries in the preparation for accession.
On the basis of the recommendations contained in the opinions of the European Commission of 16 July 1997 the European Council meeting in Luxembourg on 12–13 December 1997 decided to begin accession negotiations with five countries of Central and Eastern Europe (Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia and Estonia) as well as Cyprus. For all the Central and Eastern European candidate countries, the European Council launched an enhanced pre-accession strategy, including the implementation of the European Agreements, Partnership for Membership and a new version of the PHARE program.
The EU enlargement process was formally launched at a meeting of the Council for General Affairs on 30 March 1998. At the time, Poland declared 31 December 2002 as the date of readiness for membership into the European Union. A study of the compatibility of candidate countries' current laws with EU law began on 31 March 1998 in Brussels. After the end of the study, the actual negotiations were undertaken at the same time at the request of the candidate countries, although individually with each of the candidates from 10 November 1998. From 16 April 1999, regular meetings of political directors and European correspondents of associated and EU countries began undertaking political dialogue. For the purpose of the negotiations, the EU set up 37 task forces that were responsible for developing agreements in their respective areas. The chairmen of the Polish Negotiation Team (PZN) were, successively: Jacek Saryusz-Wolski (1997-2001) and Danuta Hübner (2001-2004).
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