Heavens above
Danuta Hübner, Minister for European Integration, began the week as favourite to become the country's first EU commissioner. Her claim to the job rests in part on the wide regard she is believed to have built up in Brussels for her role in bringing accession negotiations to a successful conclusion. Another plus is a comment, attributed to Leszek Miller, that, "The first Polish commissioner will be a woman."
As the week progressed, however, real doubts were being expressed over the terms of the deal negotiated at Copenhagen, and splits were appearing in the coalition government. Hübner and chief EU negotiator Jan Truszczyński flew to Brussels in a bid to clear the air, just days before Poland's accession treaty was due to be sent to the European Parliament. The pair were snubbed by Commissioner for EU Expansion Guenter Verheugen and Commissioner for Agriculture Franz Fischler, who declined to meet them. In fact, the EU refused to reopen renegotiations, despite claims by the government that there were inconsistencies between what was negotiated in Copenhagen and the settlements in the accession treaty.
Initially, it was unclear what were the areas of concern, although they were believed to relate to the issue of farm subsidies. The list of fears was said to include direct payments for land and revised milk quotas. Opposition deputies were angered that a meeting of the Sejm's European Commission, scheduled for the previous day, had been called off, leaving them unable to learn the full details of the growing conflict.
There were also demands that the government reveal all the documents from the Copenhagen Summit, with PiS deputy Michał Kamiński claiming that in view of the conflict over the exact terms of the country's accession to the EU, Prime Minister Leszek Miller might have been cheated.
More light was shed on the nature of the disagreement by Sejm European Commission head Józef Oleksy. He would not rule out the possibility of a major conflict between the government and the European Commission concerning EU subsidies for agriculture. According to one of the regulations in the accession treaty, farmers are to receive part of the subsidies in a simplified system, depending on the farm's acreage, and part in a standard system, depending on the type of farm and its production capacity. However, the prime minister claimed that before the Copenhagen Summit it was established that the subsidies would be paid exclusively in the simplified system. Oleksy accused the EU of declaring a new standpoint, which was not mentioned during the negotiations.
Finally, the European Commission refused to approve the government's request to grant all EU subsidies to the country's farmers in the form of direct simplified subsidies. Instead it accepted two lesser demands, including a 3% reduction in VAT on the sale of commodities. However, the EC's failure to approve other demands, notably that relating to the division of direct subsidies, brought tensions to the ruling coalition, with several politicians from the Polish Peasants Party threatening that if the government accepted Brussels' stance, then they may abandon the coalition - and vote against EU accession.
Another issue muddying the waters of EU accession was abortion, with eurosceptics suggesting that the EU would undermine the country's traditional values by promoting a liberal approach to abortion and homosexual marriages. The claim was clearly designed to boost support for a no vote in the referendum and ignored the fact that Brussels has never tried to impose its policies on moral matters. EU member Ireland, for example, has long had strict abortion laws, while over the water, the uk does not.
As the week progressed, however, real doubts were being expressed over the terms of the deal negotiated at Copenhagen, and splits were appearing in the coalition government. Hübner and chief EU negotiator Jan Truszczyński flew to Brussels in a bid to clear the air, just days before Poland's accession treaty was due to be sent to the European Parliament. The pair were snubbed by Commissioner for EU Expansion Guenter Verheugen and Commissioner for Agriculture Franz Fischler, who declined to meet them. In fact, the EU refused to reopen renegotiations, despite claims by the government that there were inconsistencies between what was negotiated in Copenhagen and the settlements in the accession treaty.
Initially, it was unclear what were the areas of concern, although they were believed to relate to the issue of farm subsidies. The list of fears was said to include direct payments for land and revised milk quotas. Opposition deputies were angered that a meeting of the Sejm's European Commission, scheduled for the previous day, had been called off, leaving them unable to learn the full details of the growing conflict.
There were also demands that the government reveal all the documents from the Copenhagen Summit, with PiS deputy Michał Kamiński claiming that in view of the conflict over the exact terms of the country's accession to the EU, Prime Minister Leszek Miller might have been cheated.
More light was shed on the nature of the disagreement by Sejm European Commission head Józef Oleksy. He would not rule out the possibility of a major conflict between the government and the European Commission concerning EU subsidies for agriculture. According to one of the regulations in the accession treaty, farmers are to receive part of the subsidies in a simplified system, depending on the farm's acreage, and part in a standard system, depending on the type of farm and its production capacity. However, the prime minister claimed that before the Copenhagen Summit it was established that the subsidies would be paid exclusively in the simplified system. Oleksy accused the EU of declaring a new standpoint, which was not mentioned during the negotiations.
Finally, the European Commission refused to approve the government's request to grant all EU subsidies to the country's farmers in the form of direct simplified subsidies. Instead it accepted two lesser demands, including a 3% reduction in VAT on the sale of commodities. However, the EC's failure to approve other demands, notably that relating to the division of direct subsidies, brought tensions to the ruling coalition, with several politicians from the Polish Peasants Party threatening that if the government accepted Brussels' stance, then they may abandon the coalition - and vote against EU accession.
Another issue muddying the waters of EU accession was abortion, with eurosceptics suggesting that the EU would undermine the country's traditional values by promoting a liberal approach to abortion and homosexual marriages. The claim was clearly designed to boost support for a no vote in the referendum and ignored the fact that Brussels has never tried to impose its policies on moral matters. EU member Ireland, for example, has long had strict abortion laws, while over the water, the uk does not.
