Gospodarczy wymiar integracji z Unią Europejską – 10 lat członkostwa Polski w UE

It is sometimes difficult to estimate the impact of Poland’s accession to the EU on individual aspects of the economy’s functioning in the micro- and macroeconomic scale. Undoubtedly though, the membership in the EU and related adjustments in the political, legal and economic spheres have created a favourable climate for activating the internal potential of the Polish economy and business circles, which has resulted in a tangible progress in the process of Poland’s catching up with better developed EU states. In the years 2003–2013, the cumulated GDP growth in Poland stood at 44.5 percent, which made one of the best results among the new EU Member States from Central and Eastern Europe. The article focuses on microeconomic issues and contributes to the attempts to define Poland’s achievements in this area since 2004, as well as its lost opportunities to strengthen the economy’s competitiveness and basis for long-term development.