Poland’s EU enthusiasm fades

7 months ago 29

Poles are much less enthusiastic about EU membership than they were in 2020 – a year after the previous EU election – according to the latest opinion poll, even though the recent elections that went in favour of pro-EU Prime Minister Donald Tusk would suggest otherwise.

According to a poll conducted by the IBRiS Institute for Rzeczpospolita, fewer and fewer Poles believe that the advantages of Poland’s EU membership outweigh its disadvantages, while the proportion of EU backers fell by 11 percentage points in three years.

Asked whether EU membership brings more benefits or losses, a small majority of respondents (53.5%) pointed to the benefits. At the same time, 16.7% thought these outweighed the losses, while 24.7% thought they cancelled each other out.

According to the poll, the fall in the proportion of EU supporters can be largely explained by the share of those who see both benefits and costs of EU membership, which has increased by nine percentage points, while the number of EU sceptics has not changed much.

Political affiliation also tends to come with different views about the EU, according to the survey.

While voters of the conservative Law and Justice party (PiS) saw their support for EU membership fall from 47% in 2020 to 17% today, support for the EU among voters of Donald Tusk’s Civic Coalition (KO, EPP/S&D) remained stable at 95% in 2020 and 94% today.

Money is a powerful incentive

Among the greatest benefits of EU membership, respondents cited mainly practical issues such as open borders and freedom of movement (32.2%), access to EU funds (21.3%), and increased security at home (24.7%). Poles also value the opportunity to study abroad.

As for drawbacks, the respondents pointed to the EU imposing laws that Poland must stick to (33.8%), unequal treatment of the member states (30.5%), inadequate migration policy (12.5%) and Poland as a source of cheap labour force (4.6%).

Meanwhile, an analysis by Poland’s Pekao Bank shows that Poland is the biggest beneficiary of EU enlargement, as its GDP doubled between 2004 and 2022, which is considerably more than in any other country in the region.

Poland is also the country in the region that has increased its participation in EU trade the most, from 3% to 6%.

The year 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of Poland’s accession to the EU. The country has since held the EU presidency once in 2011 and will be at it again next year, with Tusk as prime minister.

(Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | Euractiv.pl)