An imperfect union

Things often look better than they really are before you have them in hand. Even the European Union.

With less than a month until the country's EU referendum, a recent survey of Poles' attitudes toward domestic and European democratic institutions found that a majority has lost faith in its own government, but believes that EU membership will bring positive changes.

The survey, conducted by polling firm CBOS and financed by the European Parliament and the "Integration Now" Phare 2001 Project, indicates that 80% of the 1,620 adults surveyed, who plan to vote for the country to join the EU in June, trust the union's institutions. Trust in the EU is one of the main variables affecting voters' support for integration, as a report issued by the independent, non-partisan Institute for Public Affairs points out.

The findings about Poles' attitudes toward their own government are discouraging. Besides 67% of respondents saying that they are dissatisfied with the functioning of their democracy, 80% believe that national institutions are inefficient, 78% say that such institutions are corrupt and 89% believe that such offices serve the interests of civil servants, not citizens. The survey also shows that popular trust in the Sejm now stands at 12%, while public approval of the current government has fallen from an already dismal 38% to 12% since the beginning of the current administration's term.

Despite all this, more than half the respondents see EU integration as an opportunity for increasing the government's efficiency, as they view EU institutions as much more efficient and transparent. About 48% say that EU institutions will have a positive bearing on the performance of the Sejm and local governments, while 55% believe that the union will positively influence the workings of the central government, state administration and the courts. About 57% of those who declared any knowledge of the European parliament evaluate its performance as generally favorable, and 56% give good marks to the European Commission.

While it comes as a surprise that the survey revealed that Poles have a higher regard for EU institutions than their own, we should bear in mind that the EU's governing bodies are not without their critics or their problems, past or present. The EU will indeed bring big opportunities for the country, but it will not magically transform government institutions over-night, or perhaps at all.

The EU is by no means an ideal body, as its own institutions have come under fire in the last few years over allegations of cronyism, mismanagement, money wasting and inefficiency. In 1999, for instance, the EC had to approve a code of conduct for commissioners and their staffers after several allegations of nepotism surfaced.

Previous commissions have also been discredited by several scandals, including fraud, the misuse of security services, unorthodox bookkeeping methods and defective computer systems that created risks for diverting money. EU institutions are often and regularly criticized for their own lack of transparency and complicated decision-making processes that are incomprehensible to most ordinary citizens.

The EU will likely only add to Poles' frustration with government as the union's bloated bureaucracy, encompassing the current 15 members, will have to absorb 10 new ones next year. The never-ending proposals for constant economic and political reforms will grow, entailing even more prolonged debates that often result in watered-down legislation after myriad compromises and concessions between legislators.

Then there is the matter of Poland's contributions to the EU. While the country will get the lion's share of the new members' portion of the EU's budget, it will also have to pony up substantial funds, which it doesn't currently have, to meet its financial obligations to the union. And taxpayers won't be too pleased to see how easily their hard-earned złotys slip through the oily EU machinery and quickly disappear.

The country's marriage to the EU is not likely to change Poles' dissatisfaction with their own government, nor will it improve the workings of state institutions here. And with such high, but perhaps unrealistic expectations for a better, more efficient and transparent government for all, the country will quickly realize that the EU itself is an imperfect union.