Poland

Poland was part of the Warsaw Pact formed in May 1955 and the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) formed in 1949. Both the Pact and COMECON came to an end in 1991. Poland joined NATO in 1999. After a referendum in 2003 Poland joined the EU in 2004 and the Schengen Area in 2007.

Poland is also a member of the UN, the World Trade Organization, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), European Economic Area, International Energy Agency, Council of Europe, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, International Atomic Energy Agency, European Space Agency, G6, Council of the Baltic Sea States, Visegrád Group,Weimar Trianglet.

Poland is not part of the Euro zone and does not use the euro as its currency. However, under the terms of their Treaty of Accession with theEuropean Union, all new Member States "shall participate in the Economic and Monetary Union from the date of accession as a Member State with a derogation", which means that Poland is obliged to replace its currency, the złoty, with the euro eventually. Although there is no target date for Polish euro adoption, and no fixed date for when the country will join ERM-II (the fifth euro convergence criterion). The country's Deputy Prime Minister Janusz Piechociński has stated that Poland will not join the Euro until at least 2020.

Currency: Polish złoty

population 38.5 million.