German and Danish opinion concerning Poland's accession to the EU

After the official beginning of accession negotiations in 1998 the Polish voted for an accesion to the EU with a majority of 77,45 % in 2003. Thus Poland became a member of the EU in May 2004. Despite this seemingly overwhelming majority, the opinion regarding Polish accession in EU-15 as well as in Poland has been ambiguous.

In Poland for example farmers as well as entrepreneurs have been reserved about joining the EU. In Denmark the debate has primarily focused on the unskilled Eastern European labour force entering the Danish labour market on different conditions and at a lower pay rate than Danish workers. In Germany, the then Foreign Minister of Germany, Joschka Fischer, pointed out the advantages of Poland's accession as he regarded it as a means to ensure stability in the European region. The population in general, on the other hand, regards Poland's joining the EU in an ambiguous manner. Large enterprises on both sides point out the increasingly positive cooperation in the economic sector. However, Germans also show concern as they fear mass emigration and competition in the economic sector. In particular the population living near the border to Poland appears to suffer from the consequences of cheaper labor and products on the Polish side of the border.