Poland acts to counter wobbling support from EU
Poland's European Union (EU) accession machine is being beefed up in the face of the EU's lack of commitment over an entry date, according to John O'Rourke, deputy head of the Mission for the Delegation of the European Commission in Poland.
"I can state that we've observed a marked increase in the pace of legislation," he said.
Negotiators from Central Europe's most vibrant economy hope to secure some kind of assurance that it will be admitted to the club by 2003, although unofficial comments from EU officials have put that ambitious target in doubt. The entry dates of 2005 or 2006 being bandied about behind the scenes have left Poland's chief negotiator, Jan Kulakowski, and other top negotiators wondering if the EU is taking Poland's progress seriously.
Recent comments by the EU's French presidency that Poland would not be left hanging much longer and statements from British Foreign Minister Robin Cook, who called for target dates for ending talks with front-running candidates, have added steam to Poland's campaign for a date.
Negotiators and legislators feel a time frame would help dictate and certainly speed up the schedule for enacting EU-compliant legislation that often puts Polish businesses and farms at a competitive disadvantage.
But regardless of the stalemate, Poland cannot be accused of sitting still.
Last week a cross-party Commission for European Law was established in the Sejm with former Foreign Minister Bronislaw Geremek as its leader. Within the same time frame, the Committee for European Integration (KIE) released a report on the necessary legal and macroeconomic improvements Poland must make before it is EU compliant. Just prior to that, the government announced it was launching an $18 million publicity campaign to win over wobbly EU officials and a hesitant Euroland.
In addition, the government's Office of the Committee for European Integration (UKIE) recently opened two new departments, each headed by a new undersecretary of state, said Stanislaw Puzyna, the secretary of the Senate's Foreign Relations and European Integration Committee. One will deal with harmonization and coordination matters, and the other with EU-related promotion and information, he said.
A major sticking point along Poland's bumpy road to EU entry has been agricultural policies and standards. Farmers, afraid of losing their livelihoods to cheap competition, have thus far resisted market liberalization, as have their elected representatives.
But in other key areas cited as huge barriers to EU readiness just a few months ago, Poland has made legislative leaps.
Some of the areas, O'Rourke said, include telecommunications law, legislation amending certifications and standards, and state aids that have traditionally created unfair advantages for Polish businesses.
