Rozszerzenie Unii Europejskiej na Wschód – geneza, rezultaty, perspektywy
Eastern Enlargement of the European Union – Genesis, Outcome, Future Prospects

Summary/Abstract: The article comprises a concise synthesis of history, the achievements and prospects for further development of the processes European Union eastern enlargement. Initially, these processes concerned the group of post-Communist countries of East and Central Europe which expressed the desire to join the EU. Following long and diffi cult preparations on both sides, 11 states fi nally achieved this in 2004–2013. This has brought very positive results for both the new members and the EU as a whole. However, in the broadly understood East of Europe, there remains a group of countries of which some also aspire to become members of the EU and undertake various efforts to further this goal. The European Union supports these efforts, but it does not have any clearly defi ned policy in this respect. The reason for this are primarily differences of interest on both the EU level and the level of the individual Member States, especially among the most powerful ones among them. At present, everything seems to indicate that the possibilities of swift continuation of the EU eastward enlargement have been exhausted. The candidate countries struggle with a complicated and diffi cult internal and international situation, while in most countries of the ‘old’ EU we can observe a distinct reluctance to see the EU enlarge further. The position of the new members, and especially Poland, will not be of any help here, because while the eastern enlargement is very important to them, they’re voice is not yet strong enough to prevail over the others.

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