Poland still has a long way to go to fulfill EU single market directives

According to a European Commission (EC) report, out of all EU countries only Slovakia's performance is even worse. Other accession countries such as Lithuania, Slovenia or Hungary have no more than 40 directives outstanding. The EC's directives have not been fully implemented in key areas, namely VAT laws, telecommunications, municipal services, and regulations governing surrounding the operation of foreign businesses in Poland. Arkadiusz Pluciński, the head of the legal department at the Office of the European Integration Committee, claims that in many cases only specific paragraphs of legislation need to be amended, rather than whole laws. EC experts fear that the problems in adjusting regulations to EU norms may be due to strong business lobbies who stand to lose out on some of the changes. They also point out that Polish lawmakers may be not as determined to adjust legislation to EU standards, as they were before accession, as the threat of delayed EU entry is no longer there to motivate them. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B1) T.J.