How to make peace with the pesky Poles

Date: 22/01/04

Although Poland only becomes a member of the European Union on 1 May, its reputation entered the EU a long time ago. It has provoked more irritation across the Union than any other acceding country in the EU's history.

After it stirred controversy with its tough negotiating style over entry terms, Poland recently blocked talks on a European constitution, together with Spain, by refusing to give up the disproportionate deal on voting weights in the Council of Ministers that it obtained under the Nice Treaty.

For some Brussels-based officials, Poland has joined the EU club on the wrong foot. One Council of Ministers' insider admits there is a "tangible concern" within his institution about how hard negotiations between EU states would be after 1 May, when Poland will be a full member. "There is a shiver in the house imagining future negotiations on agriculture or on budgets."

The only comparable precedent, when the accession of one country has been preceded by so much "noise and concerns", is the United Kingdom's entry in 1973, he says. "Before the UK joined, there was a similar shiver, because everybody knew the country was different from the founding members and its officials were very assertive."

The big question in Brussels is whether Poland's present stance amounts only to a "teenage rebellion that would stop when the country becomes a mature member", as one French diplomat put it, or whether it is a pointer to how it will always act.

Günter Verheugen, the European enlargement commissioner, who worked very closely with Warsaw during accession negotiations, rejects the view, often heard in Brussels, that Poland is egotistic. "I don't agree that Poland is selfish and nationalistic. A new big member state like Poland needs time to find its place," he said.

"I don't believe in national characters, but there is something that Poles have in common: they are very cautious, because they have been very often betrayed in the past by their bigger neighbours. I heard in the candidate countries a saying which reflects this caution: 'There is no free cheese but in the mouse-trap'."

But Warsaw's warm support for the US during the Iraq war, and its role in forcing the collapse of talks on the constitution at last December's Brussels summit, has caused numerous diplomats to cast doubts on Poland's "European" credentials. Some warn that after having had a "British problem" for years, the Union will now have a "Polish problem as well".

However, Jean-Claude Juncker, the man tipped to succeed Romano Prodi as Commission president, is sympathetic and suggests that present member states' leaders have not made enough effort to better understand Poland's position on the future of Europe.

"We have an insufficient knowledge of the others," the prime minister of Luxembourg told European Voice.

"The majority of those who attended the IGC [intergovernmental conference] did not know that during the referendum campaign [for EU accession] voting in the Council played an enormous role.

"Knowing this, it was obvious that the Polish government would have had extreme difficulty in telling [their people] that the system must now be changed."

Juncker "sincerely believes" that "the Poles will revise their position" on voting in the Council and reach agreement in future talks on the constitution.

According to Verheugen, Poland's rejection of the double majority system "is not a question of political substance, but a highly symbolic one. It is not about power in the Council, it is about equality with Germany and the other big states".

Verheugen says good relations with Germany are crucial for Poland's smooth integration into the EU. He notes that the special Warsaw-Berlin partnership has gone through difficult times recently.

"We've seen disappointments on both sides. Something went very wrong, at a certain point," he said, adding that the harsh negotiations on money at the Copenhagen summit could be the point when relations between the two countries started to deteriorate. "It is essential that Germany's relations with Poland be similar to its relations with France," the commissioner added.

While the leaders in Berlin and Warsaw have numerous meetings, there are also tripartite gatherings between France, Germany and Poland, the so-called Weimar triangle. But although the meetings are frequent, the quality of the relationship has been affected by the acrimony caused by the constitutional debate, where Poland has been opposed to Germany and France.

One Brussels-based German diplomat comments that Poland's "Achilles' heel" is the "psychological need to compare itself with Germany".

Warsaw has a confused relationship with its bigger neighbour, which has conquered the country so often over the years. Poles still look with instinctive caution to Germany.

It was vital for them to join the EU under the "right terms", so as to avoid German "domination". Warsaw obtained a national victory at the 2000 Nice summit when it was allotted 27 Council votes - only two less than Germany, whose population is more than double Poland's.

By contrast, under the double majority system, Poland would "weigh" only half as much as Germany in Council decisions, as the size of a country's population would determine its voting power.

Therefore, finding a way to make the Berlin-Warsaw axis as important as the Franco-German motor is crucial.

But while improving relations with Berlin is a necessary condition for boosting Poland's trust in the Union, it will not be sufficient. Only time will tell whether the country's present EU-caution is a temporary position or signals a long-term reluctance to compromise for the common European interest.

Feature looks at the issue of how Poland will 'behave' when it joins the EU. Some EU officials are said to be fearful.