Swidnica to appeal for EU referendum
Authorities from the southwestern city of Swidnica said last week they planned to appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court (NSA) to overturn a decision by the Lower Silesian voivod that the city could not hold its own preliminary referendum on joining the European Union (EU).
The first of its kind in Poland, a local vote on joining the EU has been in the works in the lower Silesian town of 66,000 since last March when the Swidnica city council passed a resolution calling for a preliminary referendum to be held on June 11. But two weeks ago, the city's hopes were dashed when Lower Silesian Voivod Witold Krochmal revoked the resolution, claiming that the decision was not in accordance with a law that regulates local government.
"In the opinion of the lawyers ... the resolution on a preliminary referendum on Poland's entrance to the EU exceeds the competence of the city council," said Ilona Michalak, from the press office in the Lower Silesian voivodship.
According to lawyers in the Lower Silesian voivodship, the law covering local government does not permit cities to organize ballots on national issues, but rather only permits referendums to be held on issues of local importance, for example local taxes. "If passed, the legal consequences (of the referendum) would be the announcement of Swidnica's accession to the EU, which would be an illogical situation," Michalak said.
If organized by a citizen's committee or a non-governmental organization, the referendum would be permissible, Michalak said.
Swidnica authorities see things differently.
"We don't agree," said Andrzej Protasiuk, deputy mayor of Swidnica. "The city council can turn to inhabitants on every important question in the form of social consultation or referendum."
Marek Dyduch, the head of the Lower Silesian Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), also thinks that Swidnica should have a right to test local opinions on the issue in a referendum-style ballot. Moreover, he sees the voivod's move as a political step to block the initiative of the local Swidnica government, which is run by a Freedom Union (UW) and SLD coalition. Krochmal belongs to Solidarity Election Action (AWS).
"Cities can carry out social consultations," Dyduch said. "This decision shows that the voivod wants to block the conduct of the first public consultation on this issue in Poland."
Not just a promotional ruse to attract interest and investors to the small town just 30 kilometers from Wroclaw, the concept of the referendum was created to educate local citizens about the pros and cons of EU entry, Protasiuk said. Apart from the actual referendum, in the five weeks leading up to the June 11 vote the city will host "town hall" discussions and debates with local and national politicians to explore the issue.
Politicians said that Swidnica's experience could be a useful benchmark for how the country as a whole needs to prepare for the national referendum on the subject. "Right now, mainly politicians and European clubs in middle schools are discussing integration with the EU," Dyduch said. "At this stage it's worth examining how a good information (campaign) can work in one city. This is a good experience for the future."
City officials also say that the education campaign itself will help rally support around the idea.
"Public opinion polls show that there is falling support for joining the EU," Protasiuk said. "The reason is that there is a lack of complete information about this."
Public opinion surveys in recent years have shown that Poles are increasingly wary about entering the EU. According to the European Information Center (CIE), in 1996 80% of the population would have voted "yes" in a referendum to join the EU, but by the end of 1998, that number declined to 64%. Polls carried out by Centrum Badania Opinii Spolecznej (CBOS) in February this year showed that only 55% of Poles backed the idea of joining the EU.
Regardless of the voivod's decision, politicians last week said that the event will take place. "It will happen," Dyduch said. "The city is determined to carry out this referendum."
At this point, the city's initiative also seems to have garnered support of local businesses, which will probably help sponsor the event to lighten the financial burden on the city coffers. "This is an important issue," said Piotr Ponichtera, an employee in the promotion and analysis department at Pafal, a producer of measurement equipment and other electrical devices in Swidnica. "This is going to be publicized in Europe, not just in Poland."
