Image problems hampers Poland's EU support
Limited popular support in the West for Poland's accession to the European Union (EU) (http://www.europa.eu.int/index_en.htm) is caused by negative stereotypes and a lack of information on issues such as the financial cost of expansion, potential worker migration, crime, images of a backward agricultural sector and the perceived impact of enlargement on EU institutions, said Witold Orlowski, an adviser to Poland's chief EU negotiator Jan Kulakowski (http://www.kprm.gov.pl).
Last Friday Orlowski and Kulakowski discussed some of the concerns among today's EU members as Poland gears up for negotiations on some of the toughest issues that have to be resolved prior to accession. Snags in the negotiating process may push back the 2003 accession date Poland has set as a goal, Kulakowski said.
"I can confirm the opinion that Poland should be ready in 2003," he said. "However, we are aware that some delays in negotiations will cause some delay in accession."
Kulakowski's comment came during the same week a Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) official said the 2003 target is political fiction. SLD is the main opposition party in Parliament and polls project that it will win September's election.
Polish and German officials at the conference also discussed perceptions between today's EU and countries that want to join the club. An EU poll released in February indicated that 44% of today's member citizens favor enlargement while 35% are against.
