20 years in the EU. How do we compare to our neighbors? They have calculations. “A key stimulus for investment”

Over the years, the cumulative value of foreign direct investments in our country has increased by over USD 200 billion. It is also dynamic growth in many other sectors, such as export, processing and services.

Poland in the European Union. GDP growth

“Many economic indicators and aggregates prove that Poland was the largest beneficiary of EU membership among all the countries in the region that joined the Community in 2004 and later,” say experts from Bank Pekao, who took a closer look at, among others, . GDP of our country. This indicator doubled between 2004 and 2022. In the entire EU, only the small Malta and Ireland, which applies tax preferences for global corporations, recorded faster growth during this time. Moreover, other new member states from our region were far behind Poland in terms of economic growth rate – for example, the economies of the Czech Republic and Hungary grew only by about half during this time.

Poland in the European Union. GDP growth Bank Pekao

Huge increase in the value of investments in Poland

Over USD 200 billion is the value of foreign direct investments in Poland over the past 20 years. This result gives our country first place in the region, “but is also not much inferior to that achieved at that time by the much larger economy of Italy.” Poland was also among the EU countries with the strongest growth in expenditures in processing, and in the majority of industrial sectors, the driving force of investments were companies with foreign capital.

Poland is an export champion in the EU

Analysts from Pekao emphasize that our country’s greatest successes were in exports. “Poland has increased its share in EU trade the most among all EU countries. Since accession, it has doubled, from approximately 3 to 6 percent. We were clearly the largest beneficiary of industrial relocation within the Community,” we read in the report.

Experts believe that Poland will remain one of the largest beneficiaries of EU funds, which will be further strengthened by the fact that money has been unblocked from the National Reconstruction Plan. “The total amount of funds allocated to Poland in the 2021-2027 EU perspective is approximately EUR 170 billion. In the following years, this will be a key stimulus for investments and an opportunity for further civilization progress of the country,” we read in the analysis. Our country is also a leader in the implementation and use of EU funds.

Experts: Market of 450 million inhabitants, abolition of borders, decrease in unemployment

Thanks to its accession to the European Union, Poland gained access to a market of 450 million inhabitants. An expert from the Polish Economic Institute (PIE), Marek Wąsiński, stated that if Poland had not joined the Community, it would have developed much slower – by approximately 8-9 years.

– When it comes to the economic and human dimension, first of all, it is the abolition of borders – and this applies both to Polish entrepreneurs, who thanks to this could participate in the common European market and develop their companies, and ordinary citizens who, as young people, could leave, study abroad, but also live abroad, work, start companies there. This is a huge change that has taken place over the last 20 years, said Bartłomiej Balcerzyk, acting director of the European Commission Representation in Poland.

In turn, Andrzej Kubisiak, deputy director of PIE, emphasizes on the X website that the unemployment rate (19%) has dropped from the highest in the EU in 2004 to almost the lowest (2.8%). However, the employment rate from the lowest in the EU in 2020 exceeded the EU average and is currently 2 pp. higher.

In addition, Poland recorded “almost the greatest improvement in the scale of employment in the last 20 years (+20 pp. vs. +8.7 EU average). The number of people working for 20 years increased by 3.85 million.”