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The Analysis of Poland's Accession Process to The THE ANALYSIS OF POLAND’S ACCESSION PROCESS TO THE EUROPEAN UNION A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY BAŞAK İLİSULU IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN EUROPEAN STUDIES GRADUATE PROGRAMME APRIL 2004 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Sencer AYATA Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. Prof. Dr. Ali GİTMEZ Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. Prof. Dr. Atila ERALP Supervisor Examining Committee Members: Prof. Dr. Atila ERALP Asst. Prof. Dr. Sevilay KAHRAMAN Asst. Prof. Dr. Sanem BAYKAL ABSTRACT THE ANALYSIS OF POLAND’S ACCESSION PROCESS TO THE EUROPEAN UNION İlisulu, Başak M.S. Graduate Programme of European Studies Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Atila Eralp April 2004, 160 Pages The year of 1989 was a milestone in re-creation of the European continent and the relations between states of Western and Eastern Europe. After the collapse of Eastern Bloc, namely the end of the Cold War era, the relations were reshaped and there was a convergence of the Western and Eastern sides of the continent to common values, rules and political and economic structures. As a result of these new developments in the continent, the fifth enlargement wave of the European Union occurred. This was a controversial issue for the entire Europe. According to many scholars and researchers, Poland’s political history and geography caused Poland to be perceived as a special case for the European Union. iii Poland could be seen as the most difficult candidate for the European Union membership in terms of its population and size. Because of its so-called “special position”, its membership was discussed in terms of whether being a stumbling block in the enlargement process. The main motivations behind Poland’s goal of being a member of the Union were political and security-related. On the other hand, the challenges of membership were mostly concerning economic effects of membership on “losers” of the process, and social issues. Accession and integration process was a very difficult and complex period for all candidate countries. Poland created new institutions, bodies and charged many people for this process. The analysis of the organisational structure established in Poland for negotiations and the entire integration process shows that Poland created a well-functioning and efficient structure and was able to execute a stable integration process. The negotiations were carried out in 31 chapters with each candidate country. While some negotiation chapters could be accepted as easy topics, some of them required a hard “bargaining” in order to close the chapter. Five problematic chapters, free movement of persons, free movement of capital (particularly acquisition of real estate by foreigners), agriculture, environment, financial and budgetary provisions, could be accepted as the examples of tricky and hard negotiation chapters. As a conclusion, it can be said that Poland achieved NATO and EU membership, which were its twin goals in 1990s. Although, Poland was perceived as one of the most controversial candidates in European Union’s most comprehensive and difficult enlargement movement, the “big bang”, it could constitute well- iv functioning coordination mechanisms and conclude the negotiations on time with the other candidate countries. Poland did not become a stumbling block in the enlargement process and concluded its accession process successfully. Key words: Poland, the European Union, enlargement, accession negotiations. v ÖZ POLONYA’NIN AVRUPA BİRLİĞİNE KATILIM SÜRECİNİN ANALİZİ İlisulu, Başak Yüksek Lisans, Avrupa Çalışmaları Tez Yöneticisi: Prof. Dr. Atila Eralp Nisan 2004, 160 sayfa 1989 yılı, Avrupa kıtasının ve Batı ve Doğu Avrupa devletleri arasındaki ilişkilerin yeniden şekillenmesi açısından bir dönüm noktası olmuştur. Doğu Bloğunun çöküşünün ardından, yani Soğuk Savaş döneminin sonunda, ilişkiler yeniden şekillenmiş ve kıtanın doğusu ile batısı arasında ortak değerler, kurallar, siyasi ve ekonomik yapılar çerçevesinde bir yakınlaşma başlamıştır. Kıtadaki bu yeni gelişmeler neticesinde, Avrupa Birliğinin beşinci genişleme dalgası ortaya çıkmıştır. Bu genişleme hareketi, tüm Avrupa için tartışmalı bir konu olmuştur. vi Pek çok araştırmacı ve düşünüre göre, Polonya’nın siyasi tarihi ve coğrafyası, Polonya’nın Avrupa Birliği için özel bir konu olarak algılanmasına neden olmuştur. Polonya, nüfusu ve coğrafyası nedeniyle Avrupa Birliği üyeliği için en zor aday olarak görülmüştür. Bu “özel konumu” nedeniyle Polonya’nın üyeliği, genişleme hareketi önündeki bir engel oluşturup oluşturmadığı açısından tartışılmıştır. Polonya’nın Birliğin bir üyesi olma hedefinin arkasındaki başlıca sebepler siyasi ve güvenlik ile ilgilidir. Diğer yandan üyeliğe ilişkin çekinceler, üyeliğin bazı gruplar için ortaya çıkaracağı olumsuz ekonomik etkiler ve sosyal çekinceler olmuştur. Katılım ve entegrasyon süreci tüm aday ülkeler için zor ve karmaşık bir dönem olmuştur. Polonya yeni kurumlar ve yapılar oluşturmuş ve pek çok kişiyi bu süreç için görevlendirmiştir. Polonya’da müzakereler ve tüm entegrasyon süreci için oluşturulan kurumsal yapılanma incelendiğinde, Polonya’nın iyi işleyen ve verimli bir yapı oluşturduğu ve istikrarlı bir entegrasyon süreci yürütebildiği görülmektedir. Müzakereler, her aday ülke ile 31 başlık altında yürütülmüştür. Bazı müzakere başlıkları kolay kabul edilen konulardan oluşurken, bazı müzakere konuları müzakere başlığının kapatılabilmesi için zor bir “pazarlık” süreci gerektirmiştir. Kişilerin serbest dolaşımı, sermayenin serbest dolaşımı (özellikle yabancıların gayrimenkul alımı), tarım, çevre, mali ve bütçesel hükümlerden oluşan beş müzakere başlığı, uzmanlık gerektiren ve zor müzakere başlıklarına örnek olarak kabul edilebilir. Sonuç olarak, Polonya, 1990’lardaki “ikiz hedef” olan NATO ve AB üyeliğini elde etmiştir. Polonya, Avrupa Birliğinin “büyük patlama” olarak adlandırılan en kapsamlı ve zor genişleme hareketindeki en tartışmalı adaylardan biri vii olarak algılanmasına rağmen, iyi işleyen koordinasyon mekanizmalarını oluşturmuş ve müzakereleri diğer aday ülkelerle beraber zamanında tamamlamıştır. Polonya genişleme süreci için bir engel teşkil etmemiştir ve katılım sürecini başarılı bir şekilde sonuçlandırmıştır. Anahtar kelimeler: Polonya, Avrupa Birliği, genişleme, katılım müzakereleri. viii To My Family… ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank to my supervisor Prof. Dr. Atila Eralp for his guidance and useful contributions. I also give my thanks to members of my examination committee, Associate Prof. Dr. Sevilay Kahraman and Associate Prof. Dr. Sanem Baykal for their understanding and comments. This thesis would not be completed without support of my great family. Sincere thanks to my mother for believing me more than myself; to my father for his all encouragement and optimism; to my sister for her tolerance and morale support. I would like to give special thanks to Korhan for being on my side and for his endless patience. My dear friends Zelal, Mehmet, Olcayto, Tahsin, Erhun, Özge and Deniz… Thanks for their all motivation and energy. And special thanks to my director Mrs. Nilgün Arısan Eralp for her concern and support; and colleagues at EUSG for their assistance and positive atmosphere they created. x I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Date: 30/4/2004 Signature: xi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT........................................................................................……………... iii ÖZ..........................................................................................................……………. vi DEDICATION……………………………………………………………………… ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.......................................................................………….. x TABLE OF CONTENTS......................................................................….………... xii LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………………. xv LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………….. xvi INTRODUCTION..............................................................................………………..1 CHAPTER 1. MOTIVATIONS AND CHALLENGES IN POLAND BEHIND EUROPEAN UNION MEMBERSHIP.............................................……………. 9 1.1 - Twin Goals of Poland...............................................................……………. 9 1.2 – Sense of EU Membership in Poland.......................................…………… 13 1.2.1 - Was Poland a Special Case for the EU?...................…….…………… 14 1.2.2 - Costs and Benefits of EU Membership for Poland....……............…… 16 1.2.2.1 - Political Perceptions...................................................……………. 18 1.2.2.2 - Economic Considerations............................................…………… 22 1.2.2.3 - Social and Cultural Challenges..................................…………….. 28 1.2.2.4 – Public Opinion...........................................................……………. 30 1.2.3 - The European Union’s Perspective...................................…………… 36 2. ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE NEGOTIATIONS..........…...… 40 2.1 Principles and Characteristics of Negotiations..............................…………
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