Editing Poland (section)

=== Third Polish Republic ===
{{Main|History of Poland (1989–present)}}
[[File:Flowers in front of the Presidential Palace in Warsaw.jpg|upright=0.8|thumb|Flowers in front of the [[Presidential Palace, Warsaw|Presidential Palace]] following the [[2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash|death of Poland's top government officials]] in a plane crash on 10 April 2010]]
A [[shock therapy (economics)|shock therapy]] programme, initiated by [[Leszek Balcerowicz]] in the early 1990s, enabled the country to transform its [[Soviet-style socialism|Soviet-style]] [[planned economy]] into a [[market economy]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hunter |first1=Richard J. Jr. |last2=Ryan |first2=Leo V. |date=2006 |title=A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVE: "Why Was Poland's Transition So Difficult?" |journal=[[The Polish Review]] |publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]] |volume=51 |pages=147–171 |jstor=25779611 |number=2}}</ref> As with other [[post-communism|post-communist countries]], Poland suffered temporary declines in social, economic, and living standards,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kowalik |first=Tadeusz |title=From Solidarity to Sell-Out: The Restoration of Capitalism in Poland |publisher=Monthly Review Press |year=2011 |location=New York, NY}}</ref> but it became the first post-communist country to reach its pre-1989 [[Gross domestic product|GDP levels]] as early as 1995, although the unemployment rate increased.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Spieser |first=Catherine |date=April 2007 |title=Labour Market Policies in Post-communist Poland: Explaining the Peaceful Institutionalisation of Unemployment |journal=Politique européenne |volume=21 |pages=97–132 |doi=10.3917/poeu.021.0097 |number=1}}</ref> Poland became a member of the [[Visegrád Group]] in 1991,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Poláčková |first=Hana |date=1994 |title=Regional Cooperation in Central Europe: Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia: from Visegrad to CEFTA |journal=Perspectives |publisher=[[SAGE Publishers]] |pages=117–129 |jstor=23615759 |number=3}}</ref> and joined [[NATO]] in 1999.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sieradzka |first=Monika |date=3 November 2019 |title=After 20 years in NATO, Poland still eager to please |url=https://www.dw.com/en/after-20-years-in-nato-poland-still-eager-to-please/a-47862839 |access-date=26 March 2022 |website=[[DW News]] |publisher=[[Deutsche Welle]] |quote=Poland's NATO accession in 1999 was meant to provide protection from Russia. |archive-date=31 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531214850/https://www.dw.com/en/after-20-years-in-nato-poland-still-eager-to-please/a-47862839 |url-status=live }}</ref> Poles then voted to join the [[European Union]] in [[2003 Polish European Union membership referendum|a referendum]] in June 2003,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Szczerbiak |first=Aleks |date=September 2004 |title=History Trumps Government Unpopularity: The June 2003 Polish EU Accession Referendum |journal=West European Politics |volume=27 |pages=671–690 |doi=10.1080/0140238042000249876 |s2cid=153998856 |number=4}}</ref> with [[Poland in the European Union|Poland becoming a full member]] on 1 May 2004, following the [[2004 enlargement of the European Union|consequent enlargement of the union]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kundera |first=Jaroslaw |date=September 2014 |title=Poland in the European Union. The economic effects of ten years of membership |journal=Rivista di Studi Politici Internazionali |volume=81 |pages=377–396 |jstor=43580712 |number=3}}</ref>

Poland has joined the [[Schengen Area]] in 2007, as a result of which, [[Borders of Poland|the country's borders]] with other member states of the European Union were dismantled, allowing for [[Freedom of movement#European Union|full freedom of movement]] within most of the European Union.<ref name="BBC News 2007" /> On 10 April 2010, the [[President of Poland]] [[Lech Kaczyński]], along with 89 other high-ranking Polish officials [[2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash|died in a plane crash]] near [[Smolensk]], Russia.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Alex Duval |date=7 February 2016 |title=Will Poland ever uncover the truth about the plane crash that killed its president? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/07/smolensk-plane-crash-lech-kaczynski-poland-russia |access-date=26 March 2022 |website=[[The Guardian]] |location=[[Warsaw]] |archive-date=30 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220530164613/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/07/smolensk-plane-crash-lech-kaczynski-poland-russia |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2011, the ruling [[Civic Platform]] won [[2011 Polish parliamentary election|parliamentary elections]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Turkowski |first=Andrzej |title=Ruling Civic Platform Wins Parliamentary Elections in Poland |url=https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2011/10/ruling-civic-platform-wins-parliamentary-elections-in-poland?lang=en |website=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |access-date=11 April 2021 |archive-date=30 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220530233038/https://carnegieendowment.org/2011/10/10/ruling-civic-platform-wins-parliamentary-elections-in-poland-pub-45703 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2014, the [[Prime Minister of Poland]], [[Donald Tusk]], was chosen to be [[President of the European Council]], and resigned as prime minister.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lynch |first=Suzanne |title=Donald Tusk named next president of European Council |newspaper=The Irish Times |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/donald-tusk-named-next-president-of-european-council-1.1913164 |access-date=11 April 2021 |archive-date=31 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531053534/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/donald-tusk-named-next-president-of-european-council-1.1913164 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[2015 Polish parliamentary election|2015]] and [[2019 Polish parliamentary election|2019 elections]] were won by the national-conservative [[Law and Justice]] Party (PiS) led by [[Jarosław Kaczyński]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 October 2015 |title=Poland elections: Conservatives secure decisive win |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34631826 |access-date=20 June 2018 |archive-date=25 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151025224207/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34631826 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=14 October 2019 |title=Poland's populist Law and Justice party win second term in power |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/14/poland-populist-law-and-justice-party-increases-majority |access-date=8 October 2020 |archive-date=31 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531141516/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/14/poland-populist-law-and-justice-party-increases-majority |url-status=live }}</ref> resulting in increased [[Euroscepticism]] and [[Polish constitutional crisis|increased friction]] with the European Union.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rule of Law: European Commission acts to defend judicial independence in Poland |url=https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_17_5367 |access-date=15 November 2020 |website=European Commission |language=en |archive-date=28 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328122853/https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_17_5367 |url-status=live }}</ref> In December 2017, [[Mateusz Morawiecki]] was sworn in as the Prime Minister, succeeding [[Beata Szydło|Beata Szydlo]], in office since 2015. President [[Andrzej Duda]], supported by Law and Justice party, was re-elected in the 2020 presidential [[2020 Polish presidential election|election]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=13 July 2020 |title=Poland's Duda narrowly beats Trzaskowski in presidential vote |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53385021 |access-date=10 March 2021 |archive-date=13 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713013502/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53385021 |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{As of|November 2023}}, the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]] had led to 17 million [[Ukrainian refugee crisis|Ukrainian refugees]] crossing the border to Poland.<ref name="UNHRC Ukraine">{{Cite web |title=Situation Ukraine Refugee Situation |url=https://data.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine |website=data.unhcr.org |access-date=14 December 2023 |archive-date=27 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220627032436/https://data.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine |url-status=live }}</ref> {{As of|November 2023}}, 0.9 million of those had stayed in Poland.<ref name="UNHRC Ukraine" /> In October 2023, the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party won the largest share of the vote in the [[2023 Polish parliamentary election|election]], but lost its majority in parliament. In December 2023, Donald Tusk became the new Prime Minister leading a coalition made up of [[Civic Coalition (Poland)|Civic Coalition]], [[Third Way (Poland)|Third Way]], and [[The Left (Poland)|The Left]]. Law and Justice became the leading opposition party.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 December 2023 |title=Donald Tusk elected as Polish prime minister |language=en-GB |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67681940 |access-date=12 December 2023 |archive-date=13 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213060521/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67681940 |url-status=live }}</ref>