After World War 2, Poland disappeared behind the Iron Curtain for almost 50 years until the union-based Solidarity movement assumed power after elections in 1989. Parallel to the restructuring of the Polish economy in the post-communist era, Poland has been working towards integration into the European Union (EU).
EU membership was put to the vote in a referendum in June this year, for which Pope John Paul II, still a powerful influence in mainly Roman Catholic Poland, endorsed the yes vote. A 59% turnout returned a 77% yes vote and accession is set for May 1 2004, which will change SA's relationship with Poland.
EU agreements and new tariff structures will fall into place immediately, making certain SA products cheaper and opening export opportunities in an emerging country that is growing rapidly.
"This will be a truly historic event for Poland. Poles have been anticipating this moment since the Solidarity Union started struggling for basic political freedoms. This will also close the first chapter of our recent history, the construction of a free-market economy on the ruins of a socialist one," says Polish ambassador to SA Krzysztof Sliwinski.
Sliwinski, an academic who was jailed for his involvement in Solidarity, worked on the first independent daily newspaper in post-communist Poland before being posted to the diplomatic service. He says Poland became a nonvoting member of the EU in May this year and he is already feeling the effect of joining the "European family". He is now included in the EU members network in Pretoria, with a free flow of information among them.
"It's a wonderful feeling to be a part of the grown-up democracies," he says.
Another push for accession is the long-term prospect of peace. Six million Poles were killed in World War 2 and the war remains fresh in people's minds. Some national fears were alleviated when Poland joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) in 1999, and consolidating its good relationship with the US remains central to Polish foreign policy, alongside integration into Europe.
This stability has underpinned the necessary confidence required for investment. Sliwinski highlights the change by pointing out that in the past his mother refused to even have a bank account - people believed in always possessing some gold.
The administrative challenges of preparing for EU membership have been immense. The vast EU rule book covers everything from the environment to labour, tax and competition. Poland will have to comply with a myriad regulations as well as farming and food-safety laws before it joins, or other EU countries can block its agricultural exports.
Sliwinski says one of the biggest challenges Poland will face in the greater European market is whether Polish companies will be competitive enough. One of the consequences of isolation was that Poland was cut off from capital and technological advances.
Poland lags behind other European countries in prosperity and closing this gap is the long-term goal.
No-one considers the EU a quick fix. But the expectation is that accession should accelerate transformation and open the enormous - both in size and wealth - European market to Polish products and services.
"Access to the EU market was previously more restricted and membership should help to increase substantially our exports to the EU," says Polish embassy commercial counsellor Jeremi Bartosiewicz.
"Accession should help improve general productivity and, consequently, increase the average wages and living standards in Poland."
There is an infrastructure backlog. Funds raised from privatisation were needed for current expenditure and were not put into capital development. Joining the EU means Poland will have access to various subsidies and EU funds allocated to poorer countries and regions, and this may help to improve and modernise the ports and roads and build new airports.
Modernisation of the Polish agricultural sector is also on the cards. "On the plus side, our produce is of good quality, often still farmed with organic methods, but on the downside many farms still employ too many people and are still inefficient," says Bartosiewicz.
Down the line is the adoption of the common European currency, the euro.
"It is hard to foresee how well Polish companies will adapt to competition from the best companies in Europe and sometimes even the best in the world. It is obvious that at first it will not be easy for the Polish industrial companies and farmers to compete. However, the hope is that after a few years Poland can achieve an economic leap forward comparable to that of Spain and Ireland in recent years," he says.
"The biggest obstacles remain the negative heritage of the previous nonmarket, socialist system, which creates havoc in the minds of ordinary people. The lack of capital is also an obstacle."
Bartosiewicz says it will take some time before trade between SA and Poland increases significantly, even with the forthcoming changes in trade agreements.
One interesting example of the change already taking place is a marked increase at the embassy of people of Polish extraction applying for Polish passports, simply because of the impending accession of Poland to the EU.
