Europeanization of Polish Environmental Policy Based on Example of the Nitrate Directive

The paper examines how the process of European integration influences the development of Polish environmental policy. One of the Nitrate Directive’s objectives is to reduce nitrate emissions from agricultural sources to groundwater and surface water. The Implementation of all the Directive’s requirements is a difficult task therefore, it should be expected thatmost of the Accession Countries will have problems with establishing efficient measures to protect water resources. It is especially true for Poland, as agriculture is the main source of income for over 11% of the country’s population.

The process of implementing the Nitrate Directive in Poland is a good example of how European integration influences the development of environmental policy in the Accession Countries. When the European Treaty between Poland and the EU came into force, on 1st February 1994, it became clear that Poland’s activities would be aimed at joining the European Union. The process of creating an appropriate institutional structure was launched to facilitate Polish accession to the European Union and a special procedure was adopted to ensure compliance of new legal regulations with the requirements of EU legislation. This paper tries to answer the following questions: What is the role of Europeanization in the development of Polish ecological policy? How does the process influence administration as well as environmental policy objectives? Is Poland prepared to follow the present and future EU environmental policy objectives?