Balance of Polish Membership in the European Union over the First Five Years’ Period

Abstract

The aim of the article is to make a synthetic presentation of the first five
years of Polish membership in the European Union. The author is aware of
the fact that drawing up such a balance is not an easy task. It will take a long
time before a full and in-depth analysis of the results of our accession to the
European Union and its objective assessment is possible. Despite that, it can
be stated even today that in general there is an active balance for Poland and
the Polish society.
Having carried out a comparative analysis of the phenomena and processes
resulting from the Polish accession to the EU, the author shows that
its effects are generally positive in all spheres of life. Due to that, Poland is
included in the group of the biggest and most influential countries of the
European Union and the world. The author argues that from the perspective
of the last five years it is clear that the Polish accession to the EU was one
of the most important events in the Polish history, especially in the history of
the twentieth century. The accession accelerated political transformation in
Poland and transformed the political, social and economic identity of Poland
as well as its geostrategic position.