PL
Artykuł przedstawia stan i rolę systemu osadniczego „Europy 12" w procesach jego adaptacji do integracji europejskiej. Najważniejsze problemy dotyczą struktury osadniczej, zagospodarowania przestrzennego, a szczególnie powiązań transportowych, funkcji układów zurbanizowanych i miast europejskich oraz ochrony środowiska. Wypracowanie i zharmonizowanie europejskiej polityki przestrzennej umożliwi ukierunkowanie procesów integracyjnych powiększonej w przyszłości przestrzeni wspólnoty europejskiej.
EN
The author presents, in outline, the state of the settlement system “Europe 12", stressing some regional differentiations arising in 178 regions and the role of main elements of the structure of this system. In the schemes of physical development of „Europe 12" prepared up to now, attention was drawn to the role of central agglomerations and of big towns in traditional areas of West Europe, as well as to the new developing areas of the South Europe. Free market, alerady existing in European Union, will have an essential influence on further development of the settlement network in the countries of „Europe 12" and on the functions of big towns and their economic importance. The European physical policy being created in the last two years, has already taken into account, in its conceptional assumptions, the intricate problem of temporary character of „Europe 12" and the need for enlarging the common European space, as a result of changes in the Central-East Europe. The areas of common European Union enlarged in future, will obtain new functions and will be shaped, according to the new assumptions of the European physical policy which should be worked out in the next years. Polish areas are an important knot in Central Europe and should be shaped with regard to the conditions of the European space being now in the course of integration.