Poland believes that the Accession Treaty between Croatia and the European Union will be signed during its EU presidency in the second half of this year, and that the process of EU enlargement will continue and that accession talks will begin with some of the Western Balkan countries, in line with the priorities of the EU Presidency.
The accession treaty with Croatia will definitely be signed. The talks with Iceland will be completed, and talks with some Balkan countries may begin. If an association agreement is signed with Ukraine, it will be a new sign that the EU is open, Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Mikolay Dowgielewicz, in charge of the Polish EU Presidency, said in an interview with the Gazeta Wyborcza paper.
He said that the EU enlargement and the Eastern Partnership were equally important for Poland's EU Presidency as economic topics.
The final list of priorities will be defined by the government in the spring. Apart from the priorities that have already been discussed, also important will be economic coordination and creation of possibilities for faster economic development of the EU after the crisis. Equally important will be EU enlargement and the Eastern Partnership, said Dowgielewicz.
Poland has said that its EU presidency will focus on the economy, enlargement, and on the policy of bringing eastern European neighbours closer to the EU.
Dowgielewicz said the EU presidency would cost Poland around EUR 107 million, of which 97.5 million would be ensured from the state budget.
Hungary currently holds the six-month rotating presidency of the EU.
