The management of accession to the European Union in Poland and Hungary

Summary:

The paper focuses on the transformation of Polish public administration since 1989, with special emphasis on institution-building and Poland's administrative readiness to cope with EU membership. It examines the capacity of structures and policy-making procedures to implement EU law. It questions whether Polish public administration can guarantee proper implementation of EU rules and whether Polish civil servants are ready for integration into the 'European administrative space'.

Particular attention has been paid to the institutional framework for accession and the actors involved in the EU-related decision-making process at all levels of central administration. Important developments have been observed over the last ten years, during which circles of public administration dealing with EU affairs have significantly increased: from a core expert group to a significantly broader number of civil servants. Phenomena characteristic of Poland are the rotation of key actors within governmental bodies and certain elitism in dealing with EU issues.

The paper identifies major problems the Polish administration is facing, such as enforcement of reforms, difficulties with the strengthening of institutions, corruption in the power circles and problems of the understaffing and underestimation of the civil service. Finally, no one should neglect the cultural atmosphere, the issue of values and post-communist mentality, which make the speeding up of adaptation difficult.

Further Europeanisation of the Hungarian public administration will necessarily proceed as the country nears full EU membership. Besides the central administration Hungary is currently intensifying efforts in the field of setting up viable institutions for absorbing the EU funds as well as for applying the technical parts of the acquis (such as border control or institutions of the Internal Market). The regional and county levels will have to prepare for participating in EU structural and cohesion policies as well as for playing an active role in the Committee of the Regions. The key to the future success in administering EU affairs will be providing competent input from the lowest levels of bureaucracy, as well as keeping an efficient co-ordination system at the top, enabling smooth co-operation of Hungary with its EU counterparts at all levels. In parallel to this, parliamentary control is likely to increase and the mechanisms of sectoral interest representation will surely become more sophisticated and strengthened. So far results of administrative performance suggest that in institutional terms Hungary is on the right track towards gradual adaptation to EU requirements and should have no special institutional or administrative problems after gaining full membership. Hungary has good chances to become an 'ordinary' member state in the enlarged EU as is already perceived by many officials of the European Commission working with Hungary on a daily basis.