FOREIGN TRADE IN POLAND AND SLOVAKIA IN THE PROCESS OF EUROPEAN ECONOMIC INTEGRATION

Integration processes in Europe as well as globalization trends create new possibilities for enterprises. The accession of ten new Member States in 2004 and additional two in 2007 create new possibilities for enterprises, especially as far as foreign trade is concerned. The paper elaborates on internationalizing of exchange sphere of enterprises in Poland and Slovakia, which is mainly realized by foreign trade. Thus, the paper focuses on export and import transactions as the most popular form of internationalization of enterprises. The Paper presents two case studies of new Member States, that is Poland and Slovakia. For both countries the authors analyzed the foreign trade turnover volumes in the period before and after the enlargement (especially in the years 2002-2006). The aim of the paper is to investigate the impact of the accession on the value and structure of foreign trade in two selected new Member States, that is Slovakia and Poland.