New government committed to EU accession as talks continue

“I think the big effort that the next government must take is to speed up the negotiations."
By : Jeffrey Sparshott

   Poland’s new government should be able to catch up with other European Union (EU) candidate countries during accession negotiations, though a Democratic Left Alliance (SLD)-led administration will face politically difficult and potentially unpopular decisions as it seeks to join in time for the EU’s 2004 elections.

   “I think the big effort that the next government must take is to speed up the negotiations and try to get into line with the other candidate countries in terms of closed chapters,” said Leszek Jesień, an adviser to the prime minister working with chief negotiator Jan Kułakowski. “That would demand certainly to take a couple of decisions that the outgoing government, because of (Poland’s) elections, was not able to take.”

   It is not yet clear if Jesień, his boss, Kułakowski, and others will handle Poland’s negotiations once the new government is settled.

   “I think it’s too early to say anything to the press,” said Ewa Freyberg, an SLD deputy and EU expert. “First it should be decided what kind of government (there will be). But the strategy will not change. We are for joining the EU as fast as possible.”

   President Aleksander Kwaœniewski last week named SLD party leader Leszek Miller prime minister; Miller made EU accession one of his top two priorities and said he would offer a cabinet lineup this week.

   The EU is also forging ahead with plans for a bigger union. At an informal meeting next week in Ghent, Belgium, EU heads of state will meet to consider enlargement of the 15-nation bloc, as well as other issues. Last week the European Commission, the EU’s main policy-making body, adopted a mid-term review of the enlargement strategy, giving generally high marks to the roadmap outlining a timetable for negotiations.

   “The accession negotiations are progressing well in accordance with the roadmap foreseen in the enlargement strategy,” the review said.

   But while not criticizing Poland, the document also makes clear that Poland has fallen behind the most serious contenders for EU accession and has not met the EU’s schedule for negotiations. And following last month’s elections, the accession process is likely to hear from more strident opposition sitting in two anti-EU parties newly elected to the Sejm.

   “I’m sure that it will be possible to get the necessary compromises,” Jesień said. “Certainly the political spectrum doesn’t seem to be very comfortable for the new government. But I read the electoral results also as an important majority for the cause of Poland’s EU accession.”

   The EU also sees the election as an endorsement.

   “We are not particularly concerned about the Polish elections, since we consider that an overwhelming majority in the new Parliament is clearly in favor of accession of Poland to the EU,” said Jean-Christophe Filori, the EU’s enlargement spokesman. “This election will not question nor stop Poland’s efforts toward accession.”

   The election’s two biggest winners were the SLD, which won 41% of the vote, and pro-EU Civic Platform (PO), with 12.7%. Two anti-EU parties won a combined 18% of the vote.

   “We are saying that there could be a lot of fun in Parliament,” said a source connected with the European Integration Committee Office (UKIE), who asked not to be named. “But I doubt if there would be any particular decision taken on the basis of these (anti-EU) parties. I doubt if they could slow or speed up negotiations.”

   Poland has made progress and this year could close chapters on the environment, company law and free movement of goods, the UKIE official said. Progress on agricultural issues is also expected.

   While optimistic, the official said that pending elections in France and Germany are of greater concern than Poland’s domestic situation. An election-related lull in talks during the first half of 2002 could let Poland gain ground in negotiation areas already closed by other candidate countries, but force some of the hardest finance-related issues to wait until the last half of the year, he noted.

   France’s presidential elections are set for April 2002 and national assembly elections for June 2002; Germany’s parliamentary election is set for the fall of 2002, according to the International Foundation for Election Systems.

   Meanwhile, Poland has some critical issue areas to work out if it wants to catch up with its peers. Of the six countries that began negotiations in 1998, Poland is behind with only 16 chapters closed while Cyprus has shut 23, Czech 19, Estonia 19, Hungary 22 and Slovenia 21.