Meet halfway
The European Union (EU) and Poland appear to be in a deadlock when it comes to accession negotiations. The EU complains that Poland has not made enough progress in bringing its laws in line with EU regulations, while the Polish government feels the EU is not understanding enough about the difficulty of revamping its institutions and sectors.
The truth is both sides are to blame for the slow pace of negotiations. The EU needs to clarify when and under what conditions it is going to let the nations of Eastern Europe join its ranks. To expect 100% compliance with EU regulations and laws is absurd. Many EU nations only meet 85% of regulations. Central European nations have completely rebuilt their economies, governments and societies in the past 10 years. Some, Poland included, may be guilty of not acting quickly enough in terms of privatizing, drafting new laws, and restructuring key industries. The EU should set priorities for these nations, and treat them as it did Portugal and Spain when they joined the bloc.
Instead, the EU is failing to inform Poland what areas it is willing to negotiate on and provide transition periods for. Comments by EU leaders have led many in Poland to believe the bloc is stalling in bringing in new members. Many now question whether the EU will offer Poland a chance to join as early as 2003-2005 at all. Their question to the EU is this: Is it willing to accept members with as many structural and procedural difficulties and gaps as Poland? If yes, then the EU needs to set definite priorities for what needs to be accomplished. Forget EU regulations on fishing net sizes and concentrate on restructuring the steel sector or deregulating telecoms. So far, the bloc has shown no willingness to set and commit to priorities. If that means the EU is unwilling to bring in new entrants as early as originally stated, it should say so and stop wasting Polish officials' time.
Poland's legislators need to get real and get tough. Crafting new laws that only go halfway in meeting EU requirements will not cut it (see related story, page 1). At present, the EU doubts Poland's resolve to amend its legal framework and tackle key structural issues. The union has cause to be worried. Polish politicians have shown neither the backbone nor the resolve to attack issues such as agriculture sector reform with due exuberance. Nor has the government moved to disband guidelines that give preference to Polish companies over foreign ones in key tenders or sales.
In short, if the EU and Poland want to hammer out an entry agreement, they must come up with the basic guidelines now lacking. What is it that the EU will not accept and Poland not bow to? Only once these issues are out can the two sit down and negotiate anything.
