1/14/2003 - 1/14/03. Just before Christmas, the EU and Poland completed negotiations in Copenhagen and officially opened the door for Poland's entry into the European Union. As the vast majority of Polish Americans and the Catholic Church favor Poland's reintegration with Europe and the West, the American Polish Advisory Council calls on Polish Americans with Polish citizenship to vote "yes" for membership during the referendum to be scheduled for mid-2003. APAC is a national network of individuals dedicated to developing a stronger and clearer voice for Polish Americans in politics and public and international affairs. It's website is found at www.apacouncil.org. APAC hails this invitation for Poland's entry into the Union as a historic moment that will pay dividends for years to come.

The Church has been vocal in expressing its desire for Poland's EU membership. Both Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Jozef Glemp, the primate of Roman Catholic Church in Poland, have publicly indicated their support for Poland's integration into the EU. The Pope, in a speech last August, stated his hope that "the Polish nation, which has belonged in Europe for centuries, will find its due place in the structures of the European Union." And Roman Catholic Bishop Tadeusz Pieronek recently added: "I am pleased that the Polish delegation managed to obtain so much in the last day [of EU negotiations]".

Entry into the EU additionally enjoys wide support in all segments of Polish society. Poland's largest dailies, "Gazeta Wyborcza" and "Rzeczpospolita," termed the EU concessions negotiated in Copenhagen as a major achievement for Poland. "It is difficult not to have cause for satisfaction," Maciej Plazynski, a leader of the political party Civic Platform, commented on the Copenhagen summit. I think this is a good result," Poland's first non-Communist premier, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, noted.

APAC urges Polish Americans to support EU membership for Poland. This completion of negotiations signals the final elimination of the Soviet-imposed artificial barriers which separated Poland from Europe for so many decades. APAC stands with the majority of political and religious leaders in Poland who best understand the needs of their country. The leadership of the Catholic Church and that of all of Poland's major political parties understand that membership will lead to an inflow of an estimated $7 billion dollars in EU funds into Poland over the next three years alone. They understand that integration with the EU is necessary to continue to attract Western capital and investment into a country suffering from 18% unemployment. They understand that this window of opportunity that lay before them must not be missed.

Poland's membership in the EU means greater opportunities for Poland. Western manufacturers, buoyed by the understanding that goods produced in Poland will now enter the EU duty-free, will increasingly find Poland an attractive country in which to build their factories. In the last year alone, companies such as Toyota and Renault have established large Polish operations in anticipation of Poland's entry into the EU. Economists forecast that EU membership will add 10% of cumulative growth to Poland's real GDP over the next eight years. To our unemployed friends and relatives back in Poland, this means jobs, food on the table and clothes for the children. If we care about Poland, if we care about our native land and the land of our ancestors, and if we care about the future of those who remain, we simply must support Poland's entry into the EU. More information on APAC can be found at www.apacouncil.org.