Poland’s Raison d’etat in the European Union: Enlargement Policy as a Case Study

Abstract

The different views on EU–Polish relations articulated by different political actors in Poland illustrate two opposite approaches toward the shape of the integration process. The ongoing political debate on Poland’s raison d’état (reason of state) in the European Union calls for the necessity to define this notion in the current geopolitical context. In light of recent challenges and declared plans of the European Commission to transform the EU’s foreign policy it seems particularly reasonable to analyze Poland’s raison d’état in reference to the EU’s enlargement policy. Therefore, the major purpose of the article is to define and explain the essence and evolution of Poland’s position on the issue of EU enlargement. To be precise, the case study is concentrated on the developments caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine as a trigger for the reconsideration of the EU’s foreign policy. By doing so, the author makes an attempt to answer the research question on the essence of Poland’s raison d’état as regards further EU enlargement and Polish structural potential to promote its interests and shape the EU’s foreign policy overall.