PEOPLE'S ORIENTATION IN POLAND TOWARDS THE EUROPEAN UNION

If the European Union is to achieve its ultimate aim of becoming a fully-fledged political community (the ideal of ever closer union) it must be supported, alongside legal-institutional advances, by the development of a common and sufficient orientation towards the Union among itsconstituent citizens. This article attempts to show if (and what sort of) an orientation had been developed during the pre-membership period of a new member tate, Poland. The results are not encouragingtowards the ideal of political community, and demonstrate the negative and retarding impact of the recent enlargement of the Union. Examination of people's orientation towards the EU in the pre-membership stage of Poland seems to have specifically anteresting and useful information for the reader in Turkey that will start EU membership talks this year after a long period of wait.