Hard Talk Ahead
By : Jeffrey Sparshott
The government is poised to close at least one more chapter in its negotiations with the European Union (EU) when talks are scheduled to resume June 1. But the most sensitive issues related to the movement of workers and land purchases by foreigners could be pushed back until the last stages of talks in 2002, according to Polish officials.
The EU's member countries are also busy figuring out how to divvy up funds that promote economic development once a wave of Central and Eastern European candidate countries become members, with Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek adding his voice to a debate in Brussels last week by calling for a significant portion of the money to go to Poland.
The funding issue earlier this month halted negotiations with Poland and several other aspiring members when EU countries could not reach a common negotiating position on the free movement of labor, one of the most sensitive issues on the table. Spain demanded recognition for its concerns over regional structural aid, which funnels money to the poorest regions in the union, before it would back a proposal to limit access to the EU labor market.
Spain is concerned that it will lose funding for its poorest regions and Italy's government-elect has also raised concerns about the cost of enlargement. Spanish and EU officials have said they expect the internal dispute to be solved before mid-June.
Buzek last week said Poland would insist on equal treatment with existing members after it joined. According to private estimates, that could force significant changes on the EU budget if current funding levels are maintained.
Despite the increasing difficulties as talks move toward politically and financially sensitive issues, Buzek maintained that Poland would be ready to join the club by 2003 countermanding an earlier statement by his chief for European integration, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski. Most observers consider 2003 unrealistic.
Poland's negotiators are scheduled to meet with their EU counterparts June 1. The agenda for the meeting was not settled last week, though both sides have been working hard on several areas and expect to close at least the chapter on employment and social policy, said Leszek Jesien, an adviser to Buzek who is working with Poland's chief negotiator. The employment and social policy chapter deals mostly with worker rights and protection.
Successful negotiations would bring the number of chapters closed by Poland to 16 out of a total of 31, still leaving it behind several other countries.
"We are waiting on our side for the EU to agree on a number of issues, in particular on the free movement of workers," Jesien said. "I hope that once this will be reached on the EU side, negotiations will be easier."
To help negotiations move forward, Polish officials have also reemphasized a strategy to set aside some sensitive issues and leave them until the last phase of talks. That would help maintain momentum, while also leaving politically troubling issues until after the September elections.
Poland is running into difficulties in part because it is so much bigger than other countries that want to join the EU, according to analysts.
"With respect to some critical issues, the real problem is the sheer size of the country," Deutsche Bank said in its May EU Enlargement Monitor, published last week. "Poland has a larger population than all the other EU aspirants together who have a serious chance of joining in the first enlargement wave.
"The other side of the coin is that the financial and politically sensitive questions of principle connected with the eastward enlargement of the EU are concentrated, as though in a lens, in the case of Polish accession and are generating corresponding political heat."
Poland also appears to be setting out some of the toughest negotiating stances, in comparison with other countries, though Polish officials maintain they are simply working to ensure a smooth transition to full membership.
"We want to prepare the country and from the other side to get a good deal at the end of negotiations that will be suitable for the position of this country," Jesien said. "I see it difficult to compare the other countries with Poland. Whether we are tougher or not it is difficult to judge. Our demands are formulated to be the most suitable for this country and acceptable to the EU."
