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The Iraq War has once again spotlighted the divisions within the European Union that have prevented a unified foreign policy & strategy in its leadership. While the common market & currency, along with the accession of ten new member states have contributed greatly to a sense of European unity, the reliance on majority consensus & "soft security" neither ensures effective supranational policy making, nor does it eliminate the tension caused by the international leadership claims of three European Union members: GB, France, & Germany. The former two are both nuclear powers & permanent members of the Security Council, while the latter is one of the world's leading economies, & the dominant one in Europe; each has its own interests & orientations (eg, the transatlantic reflex of GB, the Continental reflex of France, & the pacifism of Germany). It is proposed that the European Union give more coordinating & directive power to the Union Ministry for Foreign Affairs to ensure a common foreign policy for the continent. A. Siegel

During recent transformations of Polish economy the foreign trade is supposed to answer a purpose of acting in favour of acceleration and lowering the costs of development. The diagnosis of the situation indicates a series of disquieting phenomenons such as disbalancing of commercial balance, lowering in export profitability, unfavourable wares structure in foreign exchange and high indebtedness abroad. Hence the tasks for Polish foreign trade policy must focus on the need of rising the competitiveness of export and diminishing import share in the volume of trade. The above task is feasible within the framework of strategy aimed at accelerated development of export and mild reduction of import. In the case of protection policy the point is to determine the scope of the protection and to make a choice of protective means for home market. Lack of perfection in functioning of market mechanisms in present Polish economy justifies today mild kind of protection policy with additionally some rigour builtin the whole of the system. Less efficiency in traditional protective means (custom duties, rates of exchange) suggests appealing to other more selective means (anti-dumping and anti-subventionning procedures, agreements and standards relating to goods quality as well as restructural clause). As far as rates of exchange policy is concerned the basic dilemma is the choice of the kind of the rate. Functional reorientation of the rate of exchange is justified because of disbalanced commercial balance: the range of oscillation should be enlarged and steady monthly devaluation - eliminated; the result should be more importance of reaction on external balance. Main conclusion is the constatation of the need for elaboration of long-term policy in Polish foreign trade - including clearly defined tasks and means to realize them. This shall permit to get optimal the process of solving the dilemmas emerging with more intensity during transformation of the economy. ; Digitalizacja i deponowanie archiwalnych zeszytów RPEiS sfinansowane przez MNiSW w ramach realizacji umowy nr 541/P-DUN/2016

In this article the reform of relations between towns and villages is treated in terms of economic undertakings aimed at eliminating the hitherto existing income and civilization discrimination of villages and agriculture in comparison with non-agricultural sectors and townspeople. Responsible for the present state of things is the logic of the former economic system with its roots in directive and distributive method of planning and management in non-agricultural sectors. Without understanding and eliminating the systemic causes of that discrimination no economic reform will ever be possible. The reform must in the first place be concerned with relations between the accumulation input of agriculture into the economic development of the country and the mechanism of income allocation in a macro scale. A replica of these relations is the development of corresponding mechanisms of adaptation in the private-sector agriculture. In order for the qualitative change in the present reform to appear, it is indispensable to take into account the essence of the presented interdependencies. They will allow to determine and allocate relatively high costs of production and low productivity in agriculture. Moreover, they will make it possible to eliminate the promotion of the economic development of the country at the expense of preserving the disparity between the development of towns and villages. However, a condition of success is the recognition of the existence of the adaptation servomechanism in relations between private-sector farming and agricultural policy. ; Digitalizacja i deponowanie archiwalnych zeszytów RPEiS sfinansowane przez MNiSW w ramach realizacji umowy nr 541/P-DUN/2016

An assessment of Belgian foreign policies promulgated since the summer of 1999 by the current government of prime minister Guy Verhofstadt is presented. The following issues, identified as the most important in the 1999-2002 period, are discussed: (1) the handling of the dioxin crisis of 1999 by the state secretary for international commerce Pierre Chevalier & the minister of foreign affairs Louis Michel, (2) an engagement in peace diplomacy in Central Africa, (3) the European Union (EU) chairmanship by Belgium begun in May 2001, (4) Belgian support & criticism of American military reactions to September 11, & (5) the principles of ethical diplomacy in action. Belgian assertive diplomacy to defend national economic & commercial interests threatened by the dioxin crisis & the country's contribution to solidifying the EU are recognized as positive developments. However, the lukewarm solidarity with the US in the wake of September 11 is found to be damaging to the country on the international arena, & the ad-hoc policies developed for Central Africa are criticized for being only a damage control resulting from "fence-sitting" throughout the 1990s. The three year foreign policy of the current government is found to produce "mixed results" & contain both positive & negative elements. Z. Dubiel

The question whether the Belgian foreign policy is marked by a continuity or break between the first & second turns of Guy Verhofstadt as a prime minister of this country's governments is addressed, surveying developments in the 1999-2004 period & scrutinizing the rhetorical declarations & concrete initiatives "on the ground" by the foreign minister Louis Michel. The diplomatic style of the first & second administrations are compared, & the principles & directions of Belgian foreign policy in 2004 are assessed in the context of the state of political affairs on the global arena, with special attention to the split between the EU & US on the war in Iraq, the division inside the former vis-a-vis supporting or opposing US intervention in this Middle Eastern country, & the recent troubles the EU experiences with greater degree of political integration, projecting also into a lack of coherent, uniform foreign policy on the supranational level. Some of the major issues the Belgian foreign policy must deal in 2004 & beyond are identified: securing democratic & peaceful governance in Central Africa, responding to the anti-Belgian campaign conducted by the US, & supporting the process of strengthening the EU position as a relevant actor on the geopolitical stage. Z. Dubiel

A brief review of some recent European Union (EU) monetary & trade history (from the 1970 Treaty of Luxembourg to the recent Greek declarations), in which problems & successes of various kinds (eg, accession of new member states, the juste retour of the UK) have been matched by new methods of raising revenue. As tariffs & trade barriers disappeared throughout the EU, other revenues (external trade tariffs, VAT, etc) have increased in importance. Three milestones in recent EU economic history are former British Prime Minister Thatcher's disputes with the EU over trade & currency issues in the early 1980s, Maastricht, & the 1999 Council of Europe, in which current financing standards were agreed upon. 4 Tables. A. Siegel

It is noted that Belgium, itself a small country on this continent, has always been & continues to be the most enthusiastic supporter of European integration. With the advantages of economic integration no longer questioned by anyone, the strengthening of the EU in the political domain, which would translate into a greater relevance of this organization on the geopolitical arena, has become the chief objective of the current Belgian foreign policy. Policies formulated & implemented by the prime minister Guy Verhofstadt & foreign minister Louis Michel are surveyed, assessing their position vis-a-vis such contentious issues as a la carte Europe (individual member states choosing their particular & preferred areas of involvement), "two-speed" Europe (the formation of a European Federation within the EU by core members, with a different status afforded to new members), & the formulation & carrying out of a uniform foreign policy by the EU as a supranational entity. Special attention is devoted to two projects promoted by the Belgian government for the EU: a common defense strategy independent from the US-led NATO & the formation of a military force capable of providing such defense. Z. Dubiel