Socio-economic Transformations on the Polish-Ukrainian Border in the Years 2004-2014

Abstract

Borderlands and constituent border regions are particularly vulnerable to changes in international (interstate, transnational) relations compared to areas located within the country. In 2004 Poland became a member of the European Union. Thus, its border with Ukraine became the external border of the EU, substantially sealed as a result of the introduction of the visa regime and Poland’s accession to the Schengen Agreement. The aim of this article is to analyze and assess the socioeconomic changes which have taken place on the Polish-Ukrainian borderland since Polish accession to the European Union and to answer the question whether Polish integration with the EU has contributed to deepening of development disparities of areas located on both sides of the border.