ABSTRACT
The formation of a free trade zone, which might also encompass Belarus and Ukraine, would not only open up the opportunities which inevitably exist for trade between neighbours, but perhaps also revive Poland’s late-nineteenth-century role as a pivot between the capital exporters of Western Europe and the markets of the East. An overture to the East would challenge the European Union to decide whether or not it is willing to accept Poland as an equal partner; and, in offsetting fears of Russian isolation in the new Europe, might do much to undermine the xenophobia which has been growing in that country. The formation of a free trade zone, which might also encompass Belarus and Ukraine, would not only open up the opportunities which inevitably exist for trade between neighbours, but perhaps also revive Poland’s late-nineteenth-century role as a pivot between the capital exporters of Western Europe and the markets of the East.
