President Aleksander Kwaśniewski and the Polish government have embarked on a campaign for votes in favor of European integration in the approaching referendum

Political parties and nongovernmental organizations are busy promoting the European Union. In Prudnik, a straw poll took place in which more than 81 percent of voters voted "yes." Unfortunately, turnout was less than 28 percent. "Let's say 'yes' to Poland, 'yes' to our future, 'yes' to Europe," said Kwaśniewski, kicking off his referendum campaign in Płock April 25. Kwaśniewski said the accession referendum would be "one of the most important civics tests" for citizens. "If Poles say no, a re-take may only be possible many years from now, or maybe never," the president said. He appealed to people "not to let the historic issue of the EU" be overshadowed by current problems and not to treat the referendum as a test of the popularity of the government. In the president's opinion, voters should not make their referendum decision dependent on their assessment of the government's work or the issue of its potential dismissal. The President's Office will send out to all Polish homes 13 million brochures with answers to questions about the EU. The brochure will include addresses of handy websites, including the representative office of the European Commission, a website for farmers and a website for entrepreneurs. Anyone interested will also be able to return a postcard, provided in the brochure, to the President's Office with their questions. Together with the Polish Robert Schuman Foundation, the president prepared 1.6 million CD-ROMs with the full text of the accession treaty, his speeches and answers to questions about the EU. Before May 1, some of the CDs were attached to newspapers including Rzeczpospolita, Gazeta Wyborcza and the leftist Trybuna.