Polish companies found EU accession costly but beneficial

This was a costly operation, but the single market has turned out to be a profitable one for 84% of entrepreneurs. The largest changes were made by food processing companies as 90% of them had at least some expenditures related to accession. The main reasons for the changes were obligatory requirements related to EU safety and consumer protection norms, as well as simple competition requirements. "The results of the EU accession turned out to asymmetrical, as Polish firms benefited more than their Western counterparts," said Maciej Grabowski from Market Economy Research Institute (IBnGR). However, the expectations of company directors' that regulations would be finally stable were not met, as in 2004 there was a number of changes to various legislation. According to polled entrepreneurs, the worst amendments concerned VAT and excise tax. (Rzeczpospolita, pp. A1, B1) M.M.