"Integration as the source of growth" : the priority of the Polish presidency of the European Union Council (Part II)

The most important achievements during the implementation of the Polish Presidency’s priority “Integration as the Source of Growth” included: the com - mencement and significant advancement of the negotiations related to the multi- year financial frameworks for the years 2014–2020 and the reform of the cohesion policy after 2013; the efficient implementation of legislative work on the general budget of the European Union for 2012. A political compromise was reached with the European Parliament on the establishment of a uniform system of patent protection, although its significance was not fully appreciated because of severe criticism of the negotiated regulations by the patent agents and representatives of small and medium enterprises in Poland. The Polish Presidency, as all previous Presidencies, suffered a few important failures. However, most of them resulted from the different opinions expressed by various member states about some of the Polish initiatives or delays in the legislative activity of the European Commission. These included the initiation of legislative work on the new shape of the system of own resources in the general budget of the European Union on the basis of the European Commission’s proposals of 29 th June 2011.