2.3 Conclusions

Polish “German cooperation has developed on the basis of the 17 June 1991 Treaty on Good Neighbourliness and Friendly Cooperation, which regulates mutual cooperation along both bilateral and multilateral lines. Poland s overall foreign economic relations, including trade with Germany, are regulated by the Association Agreement with the EU (also referred to as the Europe Agreement), which took effect in Poland on 1 March 1994. Bilateral economic cooperation has also been stimulated by a series of detailed Polish “German agreements.

An especially important factor in this relationship is Poland s prospective membership of the EU: Germany s political elite supports Polish accession and many politicians and commentators say that without Poland the EU s eastward enlargement would be meaningless. EU membership, which Poland hopes to acquire on 1 January 2004, will have a huge impact on the furtherance of Polish “German economic cooperation.

A survey by the CBOS, a leading polling centre in Warsaw, has yielded encouraging findings for the further development of Polish “German economic cooperation. When asked to name countries with which Poland should enhance its economic, political and military relations the respondents put Germany in top place in the economic sphere with 77 per cent, followed by the United States with 58 per cent. In the political sphere the figures were 74 per cent and 67 per cent respectively, with each achieving 67 per cent in the military sphere. This high level of support for cooperation with Germany is of great significance to politicians, entrepreneurs and investors as it promises an extremely favourable social climate for the further development of bilateral relations.

References

Malachowski, W. (1997) ˜Polsko-niemiecka wspolpraca gospodarcza. Problemy i wyzwani , in W. Malachowski (ed.), Polska-Niemcy a transformacja systemowa , Warsaw: SGH, Instytut Gospodarki Swiatowej.

Malachowski, W. (2001) ˜Wspolpraca gospodarcza miedzy Polska a Niemcami w latach dziewiedziesiatych , in W. Malachowski (ed.), Gospodarka Niemiec wspolczesnych , Warsaw: SGH, Instytut Gospodarki Swiatowej.