20 years of Poland in the European Union

Ada Krzewicka talks with Jan Truszczyński, a diplomat and former deputy head of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs involved in negotiating Poland’s membership in the EU.

Why had Poland consistently sought to join the European community since 1990?

Four main factors can be identified.

Firstly, the imponderables: the return of Poland to civilisational roots shared with the western part of Europe, the confirmation of our belonging to the European core, the permanent anchoring in the democratic community of European states.

Secondly, the strong and growing economic interdependence: the European Union being permanently Poland’s main trade partner and the main supplier of direct investments, which, with the asymmetric interdependence, means that without membership in the European Union Poland would have to constantly adapt to the evolution of the Union, without being able to influence its decision-making processes and the content of the decisions taken.

Thirdly, the high probability that membership will accelerate the growth of prosperity and economic development thanks to such components as the trade creation effect, lower cost of capital, increased investment attractiveness, and support for investment from European Union structural funds.

Fourthly, the functioning of the European Union as a reference framework for the processes of building liberal democracy and a social market economy in Poland, and consequently facilitating the continuation of reforms and the import of effective institutional, legal and regulatory models.

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