Bilans pierwszych lat członkostwa Polski w Unii Europejskiej

The aim of the article is to make a synthetic presentation of the first five years of Polish membership in the European Union. The author is aware of the fact that drawing up such a balance is not an easy task. It will take a long time before a full and in-depth analysis of the results of our accession to the European Union and its objective assessment is possible. Despite that, it can be stated even today that in general there is an active balance for Poland and the Polish society. Having carried out a comparative analysis of the phenomena and processes resulting from the Polish accession to the EU, the author shows that its effects are generally positive in all spheres of life. Due to that, Poland is included in the group of the biggest and most influential countries of the European Union and the world. The author argues that from the perspective of the last five years it is clear that the Polish accession to the EU was one of the most important events in the Polish history, especially in the history of the twentieth century. The accession accelerated political transformation in Poland and transformed the political, social and economic identity of Poland as well as its geostrategic position.