Poland: membership application and partnership, 8 April 1994

PURPOSE: presentation of the second accession partnership for Poland. CONTENT : Like its previous version, this partnership for the accession of Poland resembles a work programme proposing priorities and objectives to be attained by the country in the short and the medium-term in order to become a member of the Union. These objectives take into account the regular report on Poland (1999). The short-term priorities (end of 2000) concern economic criteria (following up on progress made regarding budgetary and macroeconomic stability, serious restructuring of the steel industry); the internal market (adoption by June 2000 of a programme seeking to eliminate tariff and non-tariff barriers to access to the Polish market, following up the alignment in the area of free movement of goods and capital and taxation); agriculture; transport; environment (implementation of legislation); social affairs and employment; justice and home affairs (improved border management) and the strengthening of administrative and judicial capacity (in particular in the management and control of EU funds). In the medium term, the measures will concern the creation of an annual budgetary control procedure in the economic area. In the area of the single market, the elimination by the end of 2002 of the national preference clause in the field of public procurement; progress in legislative alignment in the area of free movement of goods, taxation and customs. Other measures are awaited in the area of agriculture, fisheries, energy, transport and environment and the improvement in the operation of the customs services and asylum policy. With regard to the programming of financial resources, the partnership confirms aid granted in line with AGENDA 2000 and the various instruments provided therein (Phare, SAPARD and ISPA) in accordance with the rules already foreseen. It should be noted that assistance is only granted if the country respects the provisions of the EC-Poland Association Agreement, makes progress towards satisfying the Copenhagen criteria and assures in the year 2000 the achievement of the specific priorities of this accession partnership.�