The author, who is a Polish Member of the European Parliament, presents the European Union's Eastern policy which is currently pursued in four dimensions: a democratisation mission, enlargement policy, neighbourhood policy, and the EU as an actor on the international political scene. The author's conclusion is that without a renewed opening up of the EU's enlargement policy towards the East, none of its goals will be attained: democracy will not persist in the area, there will be no getting closer together economically, and the Union's political influence will be waning.