Impact of EU Enlargement - Essay Example

Government expenditures needed to meet the cost of the EU regulations will also necessitate greater debt and higher taxes. As published by EU Observer, a daily newspaper in Brussels, the large expenses involved in accession, the new member states may have to ask private or public financial institutions for money and further the government may also have to adopt economic measures such as increasing taxes.(Marian L. Tupy, 2000:2) The fifth enlargement in 2004 was long awaited enlargement of EU which began in 1998 and culminated with the agreement of intergovernmental conference in Nice 2000, according to which Poland became signatory to the Nice Treaty in February 2001 and joined the EU in May 2004.

(Poland and the issues surrounding EU Enlargement, 2004)2 Hanska (2008:3) in her paper work stated that Poland, from the geographical point of view is the sixth largest and one of the most populous countries within the EU and, because of this, considers itself as one of the more powerful member states at the same time.3 Polish society is one of the most pro European societies in the European societies in. sh people supported European Integration during 20034 referendum and polish membership in the EU because all the EU institutions were perceived by Polish people who were effective and less corrupted.

The Polish supported the integration because they perceived the EU accession as strategic goal for Poland and majority of the society viewed it as inevitability. Even the polish farmers realized that EU integration is worth its promise and that it was real because of its subsidiaries. The EU integration opened labor markets which allowed getting legal works in countries like France, Netherlands and Italy. Prezmek Jaron (n.d.) analyzed that the accession has given international education opportunities for the Polish as other European member states, which was not permissible prior to the accession.

And EU budget provides Poland with a chance to become the biggest beneficiary of EU financial support. The most important dimension of EU integration is possibility of traveling across Europe without passport.5 Poland after EU accession possesses completely new political reality with their first ever election of Parliament and President in 2005 since 1989. (Prezmek Jaron, n.d) Poland is an important country with EU because of its size, geo-political position and its market. According to the data of Institute of Public Affairs, in the year 2006, 36 % of the respondents agreed that integration with EU brings personally more benefits than losses as compared to 27% in 2004 and 2005 respectively.

While 28% (2006) agreed with as many losses as benefits compared to 32% (2005) and 29% (2004). And 16% (2006) gave consent to more losses than benefits against 23% (2005) and 23% (2005). While some of the remaining respondent's were not sure and others found it difficult. (Lena Kolarska Bobi