Twenty years of system transformation vs. European integration

This article is an attempt to look at the issues of correlation between the systemtransformation and the European integration from the perspective of agriculture and development ofrural areas in Poland. These issues are presented in three parts. In the first part, the integration as aneconomic and social phenomenon is analyzed as well as the transformation of the economic andpolitical system in Poland is characterized. In the second part, the experience of Polish agriculture inthe conditions of a centrally planned economy as well as system transformation is analyzed, whereasin the final part – the influence of the European integration on agriculture during the period of aroundfifteen years as well as some development trends, which are being observed in present times.