PANEL
DISCUSSION:
PROS AND CONS
OF POLAND'S ACCESSION
TO THE EUROPEAN UNION
Sunday, January 26, 1:30 PM
Knights of Columbus Hall
Left to right: Division President and discussion moderator Thaddeus Mirecki, Dr. Susanne Lotarski, Dr. Marek Chodakiewicz |
Dr. Marek Chodakiewicz, Kosciuszko Chair Professor of Polish Studies at the University of Virginia. Dr. Susanne Lotarski, Director of Central & Eastern European Trade at the US Department of Commerce, also Vice President and a National Director of our Division. Radek Sikorski, formerly Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Polish Government under Premier Buzek, and currently Executive Director of the New Atlantic Initiative in Washington, DC. |
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Moderator's Summary Both pros and cons of the question were presented and discussed by the panelists and in questions from the floor. The advantages and disadvantages of Poland's joining the EU were addressed, as were the disadvantages of not joining. However, no one could present any advantages for Poland not joining the EU. Resolution 1: The members of the Washington Metropolitan Area Division of the Polish American Congress urge all Polish citizens, in Poland and around the world, to take part in the upcoming National Referendum on the accession of Poland to the European Union, and to vote their conscience after careful study of the facts and issues. Resolution 2: WHEREAS, at the National Council of Directors on Rosemont, Illinois on November 16, 2002, a proposed resolution was read expressing an opinion about Poland’s accession to the European Union, And WHEREAS, the said resolution was tabled for further consideration and rewriting, And WHEREAS, the said resolution was not brought up for subsequent consideration by the National Council of Directors, And WHEREAS, on December 20, 2002, PAC President Mr. Edward J. Moskal published a statement in Chicago’s Polish Daily News expressing opposition to Poland’s accession to the European Union, And WHEREAS, in a letter to the National Directors dated December 23, 2002, President Moskal acknowledged that the matter had been tabled and that the statement is HIS (emphasis in original) approach to the matter and signed by him personally, NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the General Membership Meeting of the Washington Metropolitan Area Division of the Polish American on January 26, 2003, that: 1. The Division accepts President Moskal’s assertion that the published statement is his personal opinion, and not that of the National Council of Directors or the Polish American Congress as whole; 2. The membership of the Division strongly urges the National Office of the Polish American Congress to issue a public disclaimer in the press and on its Internet web site, that the statement of December 20, 2002 represents a personal opinion and not the position of the Organization as a whole, because it was not ratified by a body representative of the general membership of the Polish American Congress. |