Poland’s Road to the European Union: The State of the Enlargement Process after the 2001 September Elections

The author thinks that the consensus that used to exist in Poland regarding its membership in the European Union does no longer exist after the parliamentary elections in September of 2001. Two anti-European parties entered the parliament: the radical-populist Self-defense and the League of Polish Families, representing the fundamentalist Catholic right. The author claims that the opponents of the Polish integration into the EU are too weak in the Parliament to stop this process. Though Poland enjoys the support of the states such as Germany, France and Great Britain, the outcome of the Polish referendum on joining the EU, scheduled for the end of 2003 is far from certain. The reason for this is an intensified political campaign of the parliamentary parties opposed to Poland\u27s EU membership and the unfavourable economic situation. The author concludes that the success of the referendum to a large extent depends on the efficiency of the government\u27s economic policy in the first two years of its term