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3/10/06

NYT: "Poles biting the hands that feed them": New Polish Chief a Skeptic on Integrated Europe By JUDY DEMPSEY

For the full report go to NYT or click on link

"Poles Biting the hands that feed them": New Polish Chief a Skeptic on Integrated Europe By JUDY DEMPSEY

BERLIN, March 8 — When Poland was negotiating its entry to the European Union, its diplomats indicated that joining a politically integrated Europe was the best way to protect national interests. This belief in the power of community was shared by the other aspiring countries from the former Soviet bloc, which as a group greatly expanded the union in May 2004.

"Poland was a strong supporter of more integration," said Piotr Buras, a European policy specialist at the Willy Brandt Center in Wroclaw, in southern Poland. He said Poles believed that small and medium members would be defended against bigger interests.

But President Lech Kaczynski arrived in Berlin on Wednesday bringing a deeply altered vision of Europe: it is a nationalist, Euroskeptic vision, at odds with the policy of Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and her government.

Janusz Onyszkiewicz, leader of Poland's opposition Democratic Party and deputy chairman of the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee, says two conflicting attitudes toward the European Union exist in Poland. "One approach, which supports integration, is to safeguard our interests by being a constructive partner, working in the framework of the E.U. and sacrificing short-term interests for longer terms ones," he said. The other view, represented by the new government and president, "is to fight for our demands and to throw our weight around," he said. "This is not a view that supports further integration, not even a common foreign and security policy."

EU-DIGEST editorial comment: "It is amazing how many problems Poland has caused the EU since they were accepted to join the Union as a member state. If we rate the Polish Governments' attitude towards European integration on a scale of 1(low)-10(high), they would probably barely get a 2. On the other hand, if we look at the performance of EU candidate member Turkey, who is meeting extremely strict EU demands, never imposed on any other EU member candidates, the Turkish Government would probably get a 9+ on the scale of European solidarity. Let us hope that during President Lech Kaczynski visit to Germany Mrs. Merkel makes clear to him that Nationalistic, Euroskeptic Visions do not belong in the EU, and that the Poles are free to leave the EU if they don't want to comply with the guiding principles of the Union. The Nice Treaty, adopted before enlargement, and still in force, gives Poland generous voting rights, but is widely viewed as impractical for a bloc that has expanded to 25 members from 15. Mrs. Merkel's idea to launch a shorter and more focused European Constitution on principles is commendable, as long as it does away with the Nice treaty, and is specific on majority vote. As to the Poles: they better stop biting the hands that feed them."

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