Institutional Dimension of the Polish European Policy (2004-2014)

2019

SGH Publishing House, 2024

This publication is not a mere Poland’s EU membership balance. Poland’s membership in the EU remains an indisputable fact, one we have no intention of contesting. Similarly, the monograph is not a cost-benefit analysis, as it is too modest to aspire to such farreaching scrutiny. However, we have a sense that EU membership has bestowed upon us more positive transformations than losses thus far. Therefore, the report serves as a contribution to the scholarly discourse on Poland’s position within the EU, in light of its two decades of membership in the organization and the challenges it presently confronts.

While no single theory of integration is able to explain the functioning of the European Union, member state remains the most powerful element of the EU decision-making system. Three approaches of different rank (liberal intergovermentalism, deliberative supranationalism, fusion thesis) are used in this book to analyse both the role of an abstract state in the EU as well as the role played by Poland as a specific example. In the latter case, four dimensions of state’s experience are elaborated: its power in terms of political position and economic situation; the vision of European integration and the vision of state’s role in the integration system; the legal background of European policy; the administrative aspects relating to experience of national officials working for EU institutions. The book as addressed not only to experts, academics, students, officials and journalists, but also to all those who interested in theory and practice of European integration.

Polish European Policy 2004-2014 Ideas, Aims and Actors, 2019

This analysis covers issues related to Polish European policy in the context of the European Union crises, however – since it concerns the period 2004-2014 – it covers mainly the financial and economic crisis. The study attempts to both theoretically analyse the crisis conditions and anti-crisis policy of the Member States as well as answer research questions about the successful and unsuccessful anti-crisis measures. The contexts is here both Polish as well as European, and it refers to steps of Polish authorities to overcome the crisis. The key assumption is the significance of the lack of Poland’s membership in the euro area for anti-crisis measures in the economic crisis, but also for the context in which the Polish government managed the crisis. At the same time, remaining outside the euro area may turn out to be a major obstacle to Poland’s participation in the fight against the European Union’s identity crisis and its in-depth reform. The successes and failures of Polish European policy in the context of the crises show that a certain reactivity of the Polish European policy during the crisis on the one hand and awareness of the need to co-shape it at the European level put Poland among countries with great potential to shape the future of the EU. It is possible, however, only under the condition of demonstrating the political will to adopt the euro, cooperate with the largest EU countries with common currency and unified institutions, and increase administrative resources for more efficient coordination of the European policy. Setting ad hoc goals of the Polish European policy (such as the largest share in the use of structural funds) is not enough, any more, despite the fact that during the crisis it seemed to be quite an efficient strategy of Poland.

1956

This article deals with Poland's membership in the European Union. It outlines both the positive and negative aspects of membership. Among the positive aspects of Polish membership include inclusion in decision-making options within Europe, financial assistance received, economic growth, export possibilities, wage growth, and the positive effect on Polish agriculture. Negative aspects include persistent unemployment, issues relating to the adoption of the Euro, and Poland's health care system. The article concludes with a brief discussion of the possible consequences of a failed European Union on Poland and the other members the group.

2013

Revista UNISCI, 2016

Twelve years have passed since the Polish entry into the European Union. For Poland the date of 1 May 2004 is the culmination of a transformation process launched at the end of the Cold War in 1989. One of the priorities of Polish foreign policy, the expansion of the political, economic and cultural relations with Western Europe and the United States has been met. This approach has been described as 'the return to Europe'. Membership in the European Union changed the Polish economy and the new politics opened up new opportunities for businesses and citizens. The aim of the article is to analyze the balance of the Polish membership in the European Union in the economic, financial, political and social dimensions.