• upcoming events
• past events
• news
• comment and analysis
  • Into the whirlwind
  • The Polish Presidency: Expect the unexpected
  • Stronger Europe- but how?
  • Fund Managers get a lesson in Brussels policymaking
  • eHealth - making healthcare more efficient?
  • It's not just the economy, stupid
  • The Commission grapples to find Innovation fair for all
  • Supervising the supervisors
  • Vacant Belgian Government takes EU Presidency
  • Welcome to Europe
  • Europe on the election campaign

• Home
/news & events /comment and analysis /The Polish Presidency: Expect the unexpected /

The Polish Presidency: Expect the unexpected

The Polish Presidency of the EU is now underway. With each new Presidency comes a new check list which will measure its achievements.

There are two key elements to measuring this success: the expected agenda and the unexpected agenda. On the former, the Polish Government has been working for over two years in preparing a programme that has been approved by the Council.

It includes a focus on the 2014-2020 new financial framework which will not go by without controversy not least because Poland was the largest net beneficiary of EU money in 2009, receiving € 6.5 bn and because they want to increase the EU budget. Other priorities include the security of energy supply, advancing the EU defence policy agenda and the EU’s Eastern neighbourhood programme that some fear may jeopardise Europe’s efforts in remaining a key player in the Mediterranean region following the Arab Spring revolutions.

But beyond this agenda, Poland will face unexpected challenges throughout the rest of the year. As France can testify – whose Presidency in 2008 was dominated by Georgia and the financial crisis – it is dealing with the unforeseen challenges that will make or break a Presidency. So what curve balls could throw the Polish Presidency off course? The continuing crisis of the Eurozone will certainly consume tremendous energy from the Presidency. Other banana skins could be the looming strike of EU civil servants as well as the parliamentary elections in Poland in the autumn.

Each of these factors could undermine the Polish Presidency’s ability to deliver on its ambitious agenda and, in fact, the EU’s overall ability to advance on some key dossiers of relevance for the European business community, such as the capital markets package as well as other regulatory initiatives.

In the end, as with any Presidency the success of the Polish one will be assessed on how it will deal with the big picture issues and the unforeseen challenges and not the progress it achieved on key legislative initiatives. Whereas this might be concerning for some in the business community, it will be welcomed by others, depending on where you stand on individual issues.

Patricia Lamas Sánchez
Senior Consultant

July 4 2011