POLAND: The European Union hailed "a turning point in European history" yesterday after an overwhelming majority of Poles voted in favour of joining the EU.
European Commission president Romano Prodi telephoned Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski to congratulate him after an exit poll showed 81.7 per cent of voters approving Poland's EU membership in a two-day referendum.
Crucially, turnout was seen at 58.8 per cent, above the 50 per cent required to make the referendum valid under Polish law.
"Today's decision is a turning point in European history," the EU's executive arm said in a statement, hailing Poland's return to the western fold 14 years after the country led eastern Europe's breakaway from communism.
"A great, proud nation is turning the page of a tragic century and freely takes the seat that should have belonged to it right from the start of the process of European integration." Poland is the biggest and by far the most influential of 10 countries from eastern Europe and the Mediterranean in line to join the EU in May next year.
Polish rejection of membership in this weekend's referendum would have dealt an embarrassing blow to the bloc's biggest and most ambitious enlargement to date.
Mr Prodi said: "The turnout that goes far beyond what is usual in Polish elections confirms that Polish citizens were fully aware of the historical choice to be made.
"This is what I call the wisdom of a nation," he said, having said on the referendum campaign trail that an enlarged EU without Poland was unimaginable.
French European Affairs Minister Ms Noelle Lenoir said Poland "reclaims its place within our European family".
"This is very good news for Europe, and will strengthen the Union," she said in a statement. "It is very good news for Poland, which will be stronger as part of Europe." Poland haggled the hardest of the candidate countries to get the best accession deal, notably for its legion of farmers, taking an EU summit in Copenhagen in December down to the wire.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Mr Günter Verheugen, who led the accession negotiations, also extended his congratulations. "The yes votes reflect the strong European commitment of Poland and will also bring fresh air for completing the preparations for accession," he said in the Commission statement.
Of the 10 candidates, only the Mediterranean island of Cyprus is not putting EU membership to a popular vote.