- 6 minutes ago
Экономический взлёт Польши: надолго ли он? The Ring в Варшаве
The Ring отправляется в польскую столицу, чтобы обсудить политические аспекты экономической трансформации страны и предстоящие вызовы.
ЧИТАТЬ ДАЛЕЕ : http://ru.euronews.com/2026/10/08/ekonomicheskij-vzlyot-polshi-nadolgo-li-on-the-ring-v-varshave
Подписывайтесь: Euronews можно смотреть на Dailymotion на 12 языках
The Ring отправляется в польскую столицу, чтобы обсудить политические аспекты экономической трансформации страны и предстоящие вызовы.
ЧИТАТЬ ДАЛЕЕ : http://ru.euronews.com/2026/10/08/ekonomicheskij-vzlyot-polshi-nadolgo-li-on-the-ring-v-varshave
Подписывайтесь: Euronews можно смотреть на Dailymotion на 12 языках
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:15Продолжение следует...
00:30...or still catching up with the West. Let's get into it.
00:35Poland has changed dramatically over the past three decades.
00:39Once seen as one of Europe's poorer economies, it is now among the EU's fastest-growing countries,
00:44and its economic weight is increasingly being felt across Europe.
00:49The country has benefited from EU membership, foreign investment and the expansion of its domestic businesses,
00:55but its growth has also been supported by rising public spending, including on the fence,
00:59infrastructure and social programs.
01:02Now Poland faces a different question. Is the model sustainable?
01:06The country is trying to maintain rapid growth while dealing with a large budget deficit,
01:11high defense spending and pressure to modernize its economy.
01:14At the same time, the war in Ukraine and tensions with Russia are giving Poland a bigger strategic role.
01:20Its position on NATO's eastern flank could create new opportunities for investment,
01:24particularly in defense and infrastructure, but it also comes with higher security costs.
01:30What is truly driving Poland's economic rise?
01:33And can the country leverage its growing financial and military weight into lasting influence in Europe?
01:42About Polish economy and other very important topics, I will talk with Michał Szerba from EPP
01:48and Michał Koboszko from Renew Europe. Let's meet them.
01:53Michał Szerba, a Polish MEP from the Central Right European People's Party.
01:58He has served in the European Parliament since 2019 and is a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs
02:03and the Committee on Security and Defense. A former long-serving member of the Polish parliament,
02:08he has focused on European security, transatlantic relations and support for Ukraine.
02:12He said, Poland's economic strength and its security are increasingly connected.
02:17A strong economy gives us the ability to invest in defense and play a greater role in Europe.
02:23Michał Koboszko, a Polish MEP from the Liberal Renew Europe Group.
02:27He has a background in journalism and business and has been involved in Polish and European politics
02:32for more than a decade. In the European Parliament, he focuses on foreign affairs, security and economic issues.
02:38He said, Poland's economic success is a result of long-term development, European integration
02:44and the strength of Polish entrepreneurs. But the next challenge is making that growth sustainable.
02:52Let's welcome our guests to the stage.
02:57Hello.
02:58So, gentlemen, let's start with the main topic of today's debate, which is Polish economy.
03:06Why, in your opinion, Poland is Europe's success story?
03:11We are working hard, also in the European Parliament with Michał and other colleagues.
03:16But first of all, it's because of the Polish people. It's about Polish enterprises,
03:22but also the current government, which created a lot of opportunities to allow our employers,
03:32our enterprises to use the EU funds. And of course, we are looking with a hope to the next MFF,
03:40which will be extremely important for Poland because of the defense industry, because of the resilience,
03:46but also tools to competitiveness.
03:51Pols are very specific, our nation. We are very dynamic, very entrepreneurial,
03:57and we are, let's say, hungry for success. And we were kept, that was not our real,
04:02it was not our choice. We were kept behind the iron curtain for almost half a century.
04:07And after, you know, we became free again, we wanted to catch up as soon as possible with the West,
04:14with other countries, with the UK, with France, with Germany, with Italy.
04:19These were our benchmarks, and we were working hard.
04:22And obviously, the decisive moment was when we first joined the NATO, and then joined the EU.
04:28This is the moment where we started really to become part of the international family,
04:32and we started using the EU funds, and we were using them in a proper way.
04:39What is Poland still doing economically wrong?
04:43Well, when you look at the state of the public finance, the public deficit that we are having in Poland,
04:50we are not the worst in class, but much has to be done to improve our figures,
04:55because we know that we are in a bit challenging, I would say, or dangerous path right now,
05:03with our state budget and budget deficits.
05:06So the public finance is definitely the area where much can be and should be improved.
05:12Another area, and this is when we talk to entrepreneurs,
05:15is that, you know, the conditions in which they operate should be visibly improved.
05:21I mean the predictability, the stability of the legal system, stability of the fiscal, of the tax system in Poland.
05:29There are lots of things also that were kind of over-regulated in Poland,
05:34so we need simplification and deregulation on the European level and on the Polish level as well.
05:40I would like also to come back to the Polish presidency of the Council.
05:45It's very important that Poland was able to push the main idea, which is security Europe,
05:52which also means that our next budget, multi-annual budget,
05:57has to concentrate on the security, defense, resilience and space policy.
06:04This is extremely important to have this new tool of European Competitiveness Fund,
06:10also the instrument connecting Europe and a lot of money which we can use on military mobility
06:18and dual-use infrastructure.
06:20Do you think Poland is still catching up with the West
06:24or maybe we are now stronger when it comes to the economy than our Western neighbors?
06:30Well, the figures, the statistics are objective and the figures clearly present that Poland today
06:37is one of the fastest-growing economies in Europe.
06:40So we are much faster, growing much faster than, for example, the whole Eurozone and its member states.
06:46So that's showing you that Poland is a leader already.
06:50However, let's be frank, we need to catch up.
06:54Because, as I said in the beginning, we didn't have a choice.
06:58Right now, when we have a choice, we have a clear vision.
07:01And the clear vision is not only to catch up.
07:04The clear vision is to become a leader, one of the key leading countries
07:09and agenda-setting countries in the European Union,
07:12not only Central and Eastern Europe, but for the whole of the Union.
07:16Gentlemen, let's move towards the next very important subject,
07:21which is security and war in Ukraine.
07:25So I would like to ask you first, because Poland is spending almost 5% of its GDP on defense,
07:31while maintaining also other social spending, for example.
07:35So do you think nowadays a country can afford it?
07:40Yes, I think that security is a new drive of the EU.
07:45And also Poland is pushing this subject to our European debate
07:51and European preparation for the next budget.
07:56But of course, we are quite sure what we have to do.
08:00First of all, defense spending.
08:03Our government has adopted a draft of the new budget for 2027.
08:08Again, 5% of GDP.
08:12Again, 200 billion zlots on defense.
08:21So it is just the indicator how we treat this issue seriously.
08:26But of course, we also use the safe instrument,
08:30the European loans very effectively.
08:33And what is important, it's not only about expenditure, it's not about spending.
08:39It's about a real investment in our defense capabilities.
08:43We are living in the eastern flank of NATO and of the EU.
08:47We know what the threats are, what the danger could be.
08:51So we also want to invest in our military mobility infrastructure,
08:55strategic corridors, but also hotspots we need to strengthen,
09:01like bridges, railway, roads and so on.
09:06So this is exactly what we know.
09:08We know exactly what to do.
09:10All right.
09:12So do you agree with Michał Szczerba that security is a priority?
09:16Well, let me perhaps add that it's not that we love investments into security that much.
09:22It's not that we do not have other needs or other ways to spend the public money,
09:27the taxpayers' money.
09:29It's just that we feel, and this is kind of a general feeling across the society,
09:34that we do not have other choice.
09:36We have to modernize the army.
09:38We have to modernize this infrastructure.
09:40We have to invest in dual-use solutions across the economy,
09:44not to prepare the country for the war, but to deter the aggressor,
09:49so that the Russians would not even start thinking about invading Poland
09:54or starting any kind of direct aggression against us.
09:57That's the whole thing.
09:59And this is one thing that is really common across the society.
10:03Whether you are on the left side, right side, in the center,
10:06there is an understanding in Poland that the threat,
10:10the clear and present danger that Russia continues to present
10:15is a very clear reality that we have to face.
10:20All right.
10:20So we are just getting started and turning the heat up
10:24because it's time for round two.
10:26Glass off.
10:31In this round, we would like to bring the spirit of the European Parliament
10:36here to our studio.
10:37This is why you have a chance to ask each other questions.
10:41Short questions, short answers.
10:44Let's start with your question to Michał Szczerba.
10:49Michał, perhaps I don't know if you share my view.
10:52I have this feeling that we've been a member of the European Union
10:56for 22 years already.
10:59And I have this feeling that we are not sufficiently represented
11:04or presenting our views, our ideas in Brussels, in Strasbourg,
11:09that our voice is not loud enough.
11:12Do you share this view or do you believe that we are where we should be?
11:16I really appreciate your work and also I work hard at my committees,
11:22which are, first of all, Security and Defence Committee,
11:24a new one in the European Parliament.
11:27But I agree with you that just before the next MFF,
11:32it's not only yours and mine activity in the European Parliament.
11:37It's also a time for Polish enterprises to be really prepared
11:42to use the new tools which we will deliver like European Competitiveness Fund
11:50with four main windows, including security, defence and space.
11:57So we know how to use the money.
12:00We approved this and we approved the projects,
12:05but also we make the best use of the safe instrument.
12:08But now it will be much more complicated
12:11because we have to compete with other companies,
12:15with other, let's say, governments,
12:17with the best project that will contribute
12:21to common defence and capabilities.
12:24So now it's time for your question to Michal Koboszko.
12:29I would like to ask you a question about next year
12:32because it's 2027, we have elections in Poland, in France.
12:39Of course, your political group is connected to President Macron
12:44and to his party.
12:47We have Italy, we have Spain.
12:49How important this year will be for the European unity
12:54and what we can expect?
12:56Well, definitely I will not surprise you saying that
13:00this is going to be a decisive year for Europe
13:04and not only for the next year,
13:06but for the coming years and decades.
13:09Because these elections and the outcome
13:12will tell us what kind of a direction Europe will choose,
13:17meaning the key countries of the European Union
13:20that you mentioned, Poland, France, Spain, Italy,
13:24also some elections in regional elections in Germany as well.
13:29So these things are happening
13:31and will be happening next year regarding Poland
13:35because that's a key issue for us.
13:37In our case, this will be election,
13:40kind of a black and white election.
13:42So either Poland will go this way or that way.
13:45I'd love for Poland to keep our pro-European,
13:49pro-Western direction
13:51and not to be redirected into kind of a,
13:54I would say, a gray zone
13:56that some of our colleagues,
13:58especially from the far right, are dreaming of.
14:00There is no place in Europe nowadays for a gray zone.
14:04You have to be on the right side
14:06or you're on the evil side.
14:09There is a chance to ask Michał Szczerba one more question,
14:13so please go ahead.
14:15Michał, do you believe in the idea of the European army,
14:18simply, because there are conversations
14:21whether the NATO will be the same as it is today,
14:24whether Americans will stay or will leave.
14:27Do you believe that we might be going into the direction
14:30of forming our own European armed forces?
14:33I would like to quote Polish general,
14:36General Błazeusz,
14:38who is a Polish representative to the EU and NATO.
14:42He said NATO defends, the EU facilitates.
14:46So I agree with him.
14:48So NATO is a most successful political and military alliance
14:54in the history.
14:55And we have to strengthen the organization,
14:59our also contingency plans we have on the eastern flank.
15:04But the EU has a special role to play with infrastructure,
15:10with dual use rule as a standard for all investments.
15:17When we are talking and discussing,
15:19also Michał is helping with this,
15:21with our metro development in Warsaw.
15:26Each of this can be used also as a good space
15:30to secure people in the times of crisis.
15:33So the EU coming back to regulation on military mobility,
15:39on defensive simplification for the industry
15:43and budget has a lot to play.
15:45So to make it equal, please, a short question.
15:49Oh.
15:50It was a short answer.
15:52Okay.
15:53How do you find the European Commission
15:57in the frames of defense readiness?
16:02We have a new commissioner, Andrius Kobilius.
16:05We have a plan.
16:07We will have a European Security Council.
16:09We will have a new European Security Strategy.
16:12But do you think what we can do better
16:15or more deeper?
16:17Well, I would say my answer would be short,
16:19as we promised,
16:20but also a bit more general,
16:22not only related to the security issues.
16:25I mean, I believe that we had this commission
16:27for over two years.
16:29And we saw a number of different documents,
16:33programs, and so on being delivered on time,
16:37but the commission.
16:38So we cannot criticize them for that.
16:41It's just that the issues, the ideas,
16:44the solutions they are proposing are not being implemented yet.
16:48And we have a huge problem of the implementation,
16:51generally speaking, in the European project,
16:54that we are not, you know,
16:57we are pretty smart in Europe.
16:59I believe so.
17:00It's just that, you know,
17:02the decision-making process is a terrible process
17:05in the European Union.
17:06You know how long it takes in the European Parliament
17:09to reach a consensus, to reach a compromise.
17:11But then you have to talk to the commission.
17:13Then you have to talk to the member states.
17:15And it sometimes is a bureaucratic nightmare.
17:19So this is our weak point.
17:20All right.
17:21So we've heard what the guests have to say.
17:24Now it's time to bring the third voice into the debate.
17:31I want to bring in Radosław Sikorski,
17:35who is a minister of foreign affairs of Poland,
17:39who said in Kiev,
17:42if Russia attacked us and we took the gloves off,
17:45we would defeat Russia fairly quickly.
17:47We have overwhelming air superiority.
17:50If the Ukrainians managed to take half of Russia's
17:53refining capacity offline within six months,
17:57we could do it in six weeks.
18:00Do you agree with what Radosław Sikorski said
18:03about Polish capacity to defeat Russia quickly
18:06if under attack?
18:08Michal Kobosko first.
18:09Well, I believe that minister Sikorski's words meant not only,
18:14he was not only talking on behalf of Poland,
18:17he was talking on behalf of the Western alliance
18:21on allied countries, the NATO allies.
18:25Because, yes, we as a community,
18:28international Western community,
18:30we are much stronger than Russia.
18:32However, I have to say,
18:34not a single European NATO member would be able to effectively defend itself
18:41without the help and without the cooperation with other allies.
18:45That's the reality to it.
18:47This is why the international cooperation in the defense and security area
18:51matters so much,
18:53that we are stronger together.
18:56Not that we are weak alone,
18:59it's just that we are much stronger together.
19:01Do you agree with Michal Kobosko on that?
19:03Yes, I also believe in the EU-NATO partnership, interoperability.
19:08I also really keen on EU security and defense partnerships
19:14with the like-minded countries like the UK, Norway or Canada.
19:20We have so good relations with this country.
19:27But, of course, we have to deter,
19:29we have to be prepared, to be ready.
19:33And if something will happen, I hope no, will not,
19:37we have to react with courage and assertivity.
19:43Okay, we'll take a short break in the ring,
19:46but please stay with us,
19:48because we'll come back with much more.
19:59Welcome back to the special edition of The Ring,
20:03broadcasting from Warsaw.
20:05My name is Agata Todorov,
20:07and I'm joined by Michał Szczerba from EPP
20:10and Michał Kobosko from Renew Europe.
20:13Gentlemen, let's come back to the main topic of today's debate,
20:17which is Polish economy.
20:19So, GDP growth of this year is around 3,5%
20:24and the deficit 6,5% up to 7% of GDP.
20:30So, the main question to you is,
20:32is how Poland can remain an economic power with such large budget deficit?
20:38Michał Szczerba?
20:39You know, of course, the GDP growth is amazing
20:43and we should continue to do so with, of course, our businesses and the government supports
20:56the development and also delivers the EU money.
21:00But we have to also inform our, the people who are watching us, that it's not one party government,
21:12first of all, but what is more complicated, within the executive power, we also have the position of the president.
21:21It's not easy co-operation, it's not a very easy cooperation between the government and the president.
21:29So, we are trying to fix the budget deficit, but I can tell you that the president is not supporting
21:39government in all of its actions.
21:42So, this is a challenge for the, for the next months.
21:45Do you see more challenges here?
21:47Well, definitely, this is a serious challenge ahead of us because the, the growth, the development of Poland is amazing
21:54and many people, our colleagues in the European Parliament coming from other member states are saying,
22:00wow, Poland is fantastic because some of them are, you know, zero growth, 1% growth, while we are close
22:06to four.
22:07So, that's, that's pretty impressive, but obviously, always there is a price.
22:12And if we invest, and as we said, we have to invest a lot into defense and security, we are
22:19more indebted than we were before.
22:21I mean, we have to issue new bonds and we have to repay old bonds.
22:26I know that this is one of the key issues of our coalition government and our minister of finance that
22:33he's dealing with,
22:34because the European Union is, is watching us very closely.
22:38We have the, the, the, the special procedure in the EU for the high deficit countries, and we are part
22:44of that.
22:45And we have, you know, a very limited time to improve the state of our public finance.
22:50I know that we will do that, because we can, but it, there, there's always a price to pay.
22:56What should be the priority for Poland?
22:59Should it be our growth, GDP growth and economic growth, or should it be maybe decreasing our budget deficit?
23:08Michał Szczarba.
23:09I would concentrate on growth and development, first of all, because we have challenges.
23:16That's why we need to invest in our defense industry, to scale production, to make the best use of Ukrainian
23:30experience and to be ready in, in, in different forms.
23:36So I would concentrate on, on, on this issue first of all.
23:41Do you agree here?
23:43Well, the, the, the, the levels of the public debt, this is always a problem for every and each, each
23:48country.
23:48And, and Poland is not the worst case.
23:51Also among the EU member states, there are many countries that are more indebted than, than Poland.
23:59So, let me be a bit controversial, but perhaps the time will come to change the rules also across the
24:06EU.
24:06There's some, um, number, some statistics, some thresholds, which were pretty normal and generally understood and accepted across the member
24:17state.
24:17Perhaps in these times, which are far from, very far from, uh, normality, we should change the rules that, uh,
24:25oblige all member states to go the same line when it comes to the deficit numbers.
24:30Uh, no country can go forever, you know, borrowing more and more and more because this is going sooner or
24:39later to the crisis as we had in the case of Greece, Italy and, and other countries.
24:44So, we have to have, uh, good benchmarks and we have to apply good medicines to also to our public
24:52finance, but you have to remember, these are different times.
24:56This time is really different.
24:57We have an aggressor is from us.
25:00We have a very difficult situation also in the relations between Europe and the United States.
25:06So we have to face it and we have to have money to simply cover the costs of the, of
25:12the reality.
25:12All right, it's time to move to our final round and that will be yes or no round.
25:23So in this round, I'm going to ask you a series of questions, short questions and short answers, only yes
25:30or no.
25:31Is that easy?
25:32No, it's never easy.
25:34All right.
25:35So let's get started.
25:37Is Poland an economic success story?
25:40Yes.
25:41Yes.
25:41Is Poland still economically dependent on Germany?
25:46In a way, yes.
25:48I would say no.
25:50All right.
25:51Should Poland join the Eurozone within the next decade?
25:54I believe so, yes.
25:57I hope.
25:59All right.
25:59Not yes or no answer.
26:01Yes, I hope.
26:02Would you vote against the EU-Mercosur agreement?
26:07No.
26:11Yes.
26:12Okay.
26:14Is the Green Deal too expensive for Polish farmers?
26:18Today, yes.
26:20Yes.
26:21All right.
26:22Will the war in Ukraine ultimately make Poland stronger?
26:29Well, yes.
26:31Look, what's happening in Ukraine is obviously horrible.
26:36And you cannot say that once, you know, they are unhappy, we will be happier than we are right now.
26:41It's just that because we are investing a lot in, for example, security-related issues, yes, as a country we
26:49will be stronger.
26:49We are stronger because we invest in our security, we treat it seriously, and it's a time to speed up
27:00in different areas of security resilience.
27:07It's also very good for the democratic resilience of the country.
27:12I have the last question for you, and I think that is the best question.
27:16Would you trust the other guests to be Poland's finance minister?
27:20Yes, I would.
27:22Yes, I would, but I'm not applying for this position.
27:25All right.
27:26That brings us to the end of today's episode of The Ring.
27:31Thank you for joining me, thank you for watching, and see you next time on Euronews.