Polish Companies and Entry Into the European Union - Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, and Dilemmas

(The abstracted paper is also published in English: Ibid. 2004, Nr 1s(33), pp.17-26).Poland's entry into the European Union opens up a platform for the putting of new, extremely significant questions. Some of them pertain to the assessment of the situation facing Polish companies following accession. Will the process of incorporation of the Polish economy into the circulatory system of the European community be painful? Will the shock uncover all of its weaknesses? Or, perhaps the opposite might be true. Completely new opportunities will be set in motion, opportunities that, to be grasped, require major preparations. Obviously, the appearance of this process is different from the perspective of the economy as a whole as compared with the point of view of a single company. The concept of integration with the European Union economy will be different in the case of heads of mines and metallurgical plants - a sector where the restructuring process will have to undergo acceleration - as compared with the outlook of small entrepreneurs. Industrial leaders and companies with vibrant links to European markets do not see the accession process the way it is seen by those for whom the European market is a mystery emanating dread, where the process is seen through their own fears. There is, however, a general framework defining opportunities, threats, challenges, and dilemmas that must be faced by Polish business.