Poland trails behind as Belgians take over rotating EU presidency
European Union (EU) (http://www.europa.eu.int/index_en.htm) aspirants that started negotiations a year later than Poland are quickly surpassing the biggest Central European candidate country in the negotiation process, prompting a warning from the outgoing Swedish presidency (http://eu2001.se/eu2001/main) that Poland needs to accelerate its talks with the EU.
The EU's rotating presidency changed hands July 1, leaving Poland far short of the ambitious goals it had set out for the first six months of the year, behind the "road map" set up by the EU and, importantly, behind fellow candidate countries.
Gunnar Lund, Sweden's ambassador to the EU, singled out Poland as falling behind and said it would be unfair if the EU tells a leading group of candidates that they must wait for a single "big bang" when all countries are ready to join the EU together, according to the Polish Press Agency (PAP). But Gunter Verheugen, the EU's commissioner for enlargement, said last week that Poland should be able to catch up.
"My assessment is that Poland has the potential and the possibility to catch up very soon," he said at a news conference in Brussels. "There is no reason to believe Poland will not be among the first group of countries to conclude negotiations."
Sweden named enlargement as one of three priorities and gave the matter a high profile during a series of negotiations, informal gatherings and a final summit during its presidency. Even with Sweden's push, Poland managed to close only three of the 30 negotiation chapters that must be settled prior to EU accession, bringing its total to 16.
The country's progress is especially weak compared to some countries that started negotiations at the same time Cyprus and Hungary have closed 22 chapters, Slovenia 20 and others that started a year later Slovakia has closed 19. Slovakia's negotiators last week closed chapters on free movement of persons and free movement of capital, two of the sorest issues for Poland.
Along with Latvia and Hungary, it has agreed to accept a delay of up to seven years before its workers can freely seek employment in EU countries. Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands, however, have offered to open up labor markets immediately for new member states. Poland has rejected any transition for its workers.
Hungary and Slovakia have also accepted that foreigners can buy agricultural and forestry land after seven years. Poland is asking for 18 years.
Despite the distance between Poland and leading candidates, analysts see little hope for meaningful progress before Poland's Sept. 23 parliamentary elections.
"Poland will strive again to catch up after its elections," said Mortiz Schularick, an economist with Deutsche Bank and author of its Enlargement Monitor. "The trade-off is real and obvious. Poles, how they negotiate, risk being overtaken by other countries."
In the end, the country will have to accept similar, if not identical, accession criteria as its peers, he said. "The question is really how big the gap can be without fears of an enlargement without Poland," he added.
As the candidate countries look to wrap up negotiations in 2002, the EU is wrestling with some crucial, potentially distracting issues of its own, from the always politically important matter of funding for farmers and poor regions, to more overarching questions about the basic structure of the union.
Belgium, which will head the EU through the end of the year, has highlighted enlargement as one of several priorities though clearly in the context of a recast union where big changes and projects will be necessary to keep the organization running. "This time, it is much more than just another enlargement," said Guy Verhofstadt, Belgium's prime minister (http://www.eu2001.be/main?frameset.asp?reference=01-017lang=en&seess=86373655&), in a speech last week. "It is a real mutation of the union.
"Time has therefore come to start considering how the enlarged union will look. What project will it embody? On which values will it be based? What will be its objectives and competencies? How will decisions be taken? How will it be financed? What will be its institutions?
"The answers to these questions determine whether European integration will survive enlargement."
The country's priorities, in addition to enlargement, include introduction of the euro, common policies for social matters, asylum and immigration, sustainable development, and foreign and security policy.
Highlighting potential snags along the enlargement path, a recent referendum in Ireland called into question the timetable for adding new members. The EU's leaders appear prepared to forge ahead and observers expect a second referendum in Ireland that makes concessions to the country's gravest concerns. In the meantime, EU leaders have confirmed that it should be possible to complete the negotiations with the best-prepared candidate countries before the end of 2002.
The question is, will Poland be one of them?
"I am confident that Poland will be among the first countries to join but I also want to underline that it is not all about how many chapters you have opened or closed," Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek said, following the final summit of Sweden's presidency. "It is important how you close them, in which way we close them. And in Poland we want to close them properly. This is important for public opinion. We want all our citizens to understand why this is good for the country. And we want to win the referendum when we hold it."
Ewa Haczyk, spokeswoman for Poland's chief negotiator (http://www.ukie.gov.pl), said last week that negotiations are going very well, pointing to a recent agreement by EU members to conclude negotiations with the best-prepared countries in 2002. Poland will be part of that group, she said.
The next negotiations are scheduled for July 27, when Poland and the EU will talk about energy policy and, hopefully, close that negotiation chapter, she said. Chapters on taxation, then justice and home affairs should follow.
