PRIORITIES OF THE POLISH PRESIDENCY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION COUNCIL (Priorytety polskiego przewodnictwa w Radzie Unii Europejskiej)

In the second half of 2011 Poland holds presidency of the European Union Council, an obvious test of the country's institutional efficiency and its capacity to manage an international organization. The article presents a model of holding the presidency: the mechanism of cooperation between the EU's institutions and national institutions of various levels before and during the country's presidency that shapes the country's priorities and functions during its presidency of the European Council. The author analyzes the priorities set down by Poland which are compatible with the EU's strategy of development until 2020 adopted in 2010 by the European Commission and take into account the EU's current economic situation. Poland is the first of three countries (together with Denmark and Cyprus) to launch the decision making processes in a number of crucial economic spheres: shaping the budget, the financial framework, internal market or cohesion policy.