<P> At the Luxembourg summit in 1997 , the EU accepted the Commission 's opinion to invite Poland , Czech Republic , Hungary , Slovenia , Estonia and Cyprus to start talks on their accession to the EU . The negotiation process started on 31 March 1998 . Poland finished the accession negotiations in December 2002 . Then , the Accession Treaty was signed in Athens on 16 April 2003 ( Treaty of Accession 2003 ) . After the ratification of that Treaty in the Polish European Union membership referendum , 2003 , Poland and other 9 countries became the members of EU on 1 May 2004 . </P>
<P> At the Luxembourg summit in 1997 , the EU accepted the Commission 's opinion to invite Poland , Czech Republic , Hungary , Slovenia , Estonia and Cyprus to start talks on their accession to the EU . The negotiation process started on 31 March 1998 . Poland finished the accession negotiations in December 2002 . Then , the Accession Treaty was signed in Athens on 16 April 2003 ( Treaty of Accession 2003 ) . After the ratification of that Treaty in the Polish European Union membership referendum , 2003 , Poland and other 9 countries became the members of EU on 1 May 2004 . </P>
when did poland become part of the eu
when did poland become part of the eu
1 May 2004
1 May 2004