The purpose of this article is to contribute to the debate on the Europeanization of new member states by discussing the impact of European Union (EU) regional policy on Polish regions. Analysis of the institutional setting connected to the regional policy proves that the general lack of social trust in Poland determines the unjustified complexity of procedures affecting the absorption of structural funds. In this investigation we adopt the social capital perspective to explain regional variation in the capacity to implement EU regional policy. The conclusions contradict the mainstream thesis that it is bridging social capital that correlates positively with regional economic development and administrative capacities. On the contrary, among the case study regions the one with higher bonding social capital proved more efficient in the absorption of EU funds. The following question remains — does the pace of absorption correspond to allocation decisions that would support the development of a region in a long‐term perspective? Résumé Cet article, qui s'inscrit dans le débat sur l'européanisation des nouveaux États membres, s'attache à l'impact de la politique régionale de l'Union européenne (UE) sur les territoires polonais. Une analyse du cadre institutionnel liéà la politique régionale montre que le défaut généralisé de confiance sociale en Pologne amène une complexité injustifiée des procédures qui pèse sur l'absorption des fonds structurels. L'étude adopte l'approche du capital social pour expliquer les variations régionales dans la capacitéà mettre en œuvre la politique régionale de l'UE. Les résultats contredisent la thèse classique selon laquelle c'est un capital social ‘relationnel’ (bridging) qui crée une corrélation positive avec les capacités administrative et de développement économique régionales. Au contraire, parmi les régions étudiées, le cas présentant le capital social le plus ‘affectif’ (bonding) s'est révélé plus efficient dans son utilisation des fonds européens. Il reste une question: le rythme d'absorption correspond‐il à des décisions d'affectation qui favoriseraient le développement d'une région à longue échéance?

Europeanization is not a new term, but only throughout the recent two decades it has turned into a notion very frequently used in social science. It seems there are two reasons for its success: (1) the intensifi cation of European integration in the late 1980's and (2) the development of the conceptual studies on Europeanization. Numerous theoretical approaches elaborated under the term have stimulated its popularity, yet they have also raised a critical question on the empirical usefulness of the broadly and vaguely defi ned concept. In the article the concept of Europeanization is taken under scrutiny. Recently developed multiple attitudes to Europeanization are critically discussed and presented with reference to the broader body of the literature on European integration. The considerations end with a short revision of possible empirical usages of the popular term in Polish context. This aim has been triggered by a shortage of references to the widely discussed concept in Polish literature. Polish debate on repercussions of the membership in the European Union may be signifi cantly enriched by a thoughtful reference to the popular, even though controversial concept. Being aware of its shortcomings we can make a better use of its advantages.

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