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Lengyelország gazdasági felemelkedése: meddig tart? A The Ring Varsóban
A The Ring Varsóba utazott, hogy teret engedjen egy politikai vitának Lengyelország gazdasági átalakulásáról és az előtte álló kihívásokról.
BŐVEBBEN : http://hu.euronews.com/2026/10/07/lengyelorszag-gazdasagi-felemelkedese-meddig-tart-a-the-ring-varsoban
Iratkozzon fel: Az Euronews elérhető 12 nyelven
A The Ring Varsóba utazott, hogy teret engedjen egy politikai vitának Lengyelország gazdasági átalakulásáról és az előtte álló kihívásokról.
BŐVEBBEN : http://hu.euronews.com/2026/10/07/lengyelorszag-gazdasagi-felemelkedese-meddig-tart-a-the-ring-varsoban
Iratkozzon fel: Az Euronews elérhető 12 nyelven
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NewsTranscript
00:08Welcome. My name is Agata Todorov, and this is The Ring, Euronews Weekly Debate Show.
00:15We are broadcasting straight from Warsaw, Poland, one of the fastest growing economies in Europe
00:21and very important player in the EU's security landscape.
00:26So, is Poland becoming a new economic leader 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. The country has benefited
00:50from EU membership, foreign investment and the expansion of its domestic businesses,
00:54but its growth has also been supported by rising public spending, including on defense, infrastructure
01:00and 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,
02:13Poland'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
02:29and has been involved in Polish and European politics for more than a decade.
02:33In the European Parliament, he focuses on foreign affairs, security and economic issues.
02:38He said,
02:39Poland's economic success is a result of long-term development,
02:43European integration and the strength of Polish entrepreneurs.
02:46But 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, hard so in the European Parliament with Michał and other colleagues.
03:16But first of all, it's because of the Polish people.
03:19It's about Polish enterprises, but also the current government,
03:24which created a lot of opportunities to allow our employers,
03:32our enterprises to use the EU funds.
03:35And 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,
03:44because of the resilience, but also tools to competitiveness.
03:51Pols are very specific, our nation.
03:54We are very dynamic, very entrepreneurial,
03:57and we are, let's say, hungry for success.
04:00And we were kept, that was not our real, it was not our choice.
04:04We were kept behind the iron curtain for almost half a century.
04:07And after, you know, we became free again,
04:11we 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,
04:26and 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,
04:47the public deficit that we are having in Poland,
04:50we are not the worst in class,
04:52but much has to be done to improve our figures,
04:56because we know that we are in a bit challenging, I would say,
05:01or dangerous path right now with 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,
05:25stability 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
05:38and on the Polish level as well.
05:40I would like also to come back to the Polish presidency of the Council.
05:46It's very important that Poland was able to push the main idea,
05:50which 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,
06:15which we can use on military mobility and dual-use infrastructure.
06:20Do you think Poland is still catching up with the West,
06:25or maybe we are now stronger when it comes to the economy than our Western neighbors?
06:30Well, the figures, the statistics are objective,
06:33and the figures clearly present that Poland today is one of the fastest growing economies in Europe.
06:40So we are much faster, growing much faster than, for example,
06:43the 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,
07:07one of the key leading countries and 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,
07:27because 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 zloty on defense.
08:20So 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.
08:34And what is important, it's not only about expenditure.
08:37It'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,
08:56strategic 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.
09:11All right.
09:12So do you agree with Michał Sczerba 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,
10:07there 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, gloves off.
10:31In this round, we would like to bring the spirit
10:34of the European Parliament here to our studio.
10:37This is why you have a chance to ask each other questions.
10:42Short 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.
11:18And also I work hard at my committees,
11:21which 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,
11:48like European Competitiveness Fund with four main windows,
11:53including security, defence and space.
11:56So 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.
12:09But 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.
12:36We have elections in Poland, in France, of course,
12:40your 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?
12:57Well, definitely I will not surprise you saying
13:00that this 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.
13:41So 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,
13:54I would say, a grey 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 grey zone.
14:05You have to be on the right side
14:06or you're on the evil side.
14:09There is a chance to ask Michal Szczerba one more question.
14:13So please, go ahead.
14:14Michal, 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 Boazajusz,
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 and we have to strengthen the organisation,
14:59our also contingency plans we have on the eastern flank.
15:04But the EU has a special role to play with infrastructure,
15:11with dual use rule as a standard for all investments.
15:17When we are talking and discussing,
15:19also Michal 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.
15:46So to make it equal, please a short question.
15:49Oh, it's 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 or more deeper?
16:16Well, I would say my answer would be short, as we promised,
16:20but also a bit more general, not only related to the security issues.
16:25I mean, I believe that we had this commission for over two years,
16:29and we saw a number of different documents, programs,
16:34and so on being delivered on time by the commission.
16:38So we cannot criticize them for that.
16:41It's just that the issues, the ideas, the solutions they are proposing
16:46are 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, we are pretty smart in Europe.
16:59I believe so.
17:01It's just that, you know, decision-making process
17:03is a terrible process in 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.
17:16And 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 Radoslaw Sikorski,
17:35who is a minister of foreign affairs of Poland,
17:39who said in Kiev,
17:41if 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 refining capacity offline
17:55within six months, we could do it in six weeks.
18:00Do you agree with what Radoslaw Sikorski said about Polish capacity
18:05to defeat Russia quickly, if under attack?
18:08Michał Kobosko first.
18:08Well, 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 on allied countries,
18:24the 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
18:37would 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
18:49in the defense and security area
18:51matters so much,
18:53that we are stronger together.
18:55Not that we are weak alone,
18:59it's just that we are much stronger together.
19:01Do you agree with Michał Kobosko on that?
19:03Yes, I also believe in the EU-NATO partnership,
19:07interoperability.
19:08I also really keen on EU security and defense partnerships
19:14with the like-minded countries
19:17like 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,
19:35I 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.
20:14Gentlemen, let's come back to the main topic
20:16of today's debate, which 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,
20:32how Poland can remain an economic power
20:35with 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,
20:50our 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,
21:09that it's not one party government, first of all,
21:12but what is more complicated,
21:15within the executive power,
21:17we also have the position of the president.
21:21It's not easy, it's not a very easy cooperation
21:26between the government and the president.
21:29So we are trying to fix the budget deficit,
21:34but I can tell you that the president
21:38is not supporting government in all of its actions.
21:42So this is a challenge for the next month.
21:45Do you see more challenges here?
21:47Well, definitely, this is a serious challenge ahead of us
21:51because the growth, the development of Poland is amazing
21:54and many people, our colleagues in the European Parliament
21:58coming from other member states are saying,
22:00wow, Poland is fantastic
22:01because some of them are, you know, zero growth, 1% growth,
22:06while we are close to four.
22:07So that's pretty impressive,
22:09but obviously, always there is a price.
22:12And if we invest, and as we said,
22:15we have to invest a lot into defense and security,
22:18we are more indebted than we were before.
22:21I mean, we have to issue new bonds
22:23and we have to repay old bonds.
22:26I know that this is one of the key issues
22:29of our coalition government
22:31and our minister of finance that he's dealing with
22:34because the European Union is watching us very closely.
22:38We have the special procedure in the EU
22:41for the high-deficit countries and we are part of that.
22:45And we have, you know, a very limited time
22:48to improve the state of our public finance.
22:50I know that we will do that because we can,
22:53but 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
23:04or should it be maybe decreasing our budget deficit?
23:08Michał Szczarba?
23:09I would concentrate on growth and development.
23:13First of all, because we have challenges.
23:17That's why we need to invest in our defense industry,
23:23to scale production,
23:26to make the best use of Ukrainian experience
23:33and to be ready in different forms.
23:36So I would concentrate on this issue first of all.
23:41Do you agree here?
23:43Well, the levels of the public debt,
23:45this is always a problem for every and each country.
23:48And Poland is not the worst case.
23:51Also among the EU member states,
23:54there are many countries that are more indebted than Poland.
23:58So let me be a bit controversial,
24:01but perhaps the time will come to change the rules also across the EU.
24:07There's some numbers, some statistics, some thresholds,
24:11which were pretty normal and generally understood
24:15and accepted across the member states.
24:17Perhaps in these times, which are very far from normality,
24:22we should change the rules that oblige all member states
24:27to go the same line when it comes to the deficit numbers.
24:31No country can go forever, you know,
24:35borrowing more and more and more
24:37because this is going sooner or later to the crisis
24:40as we had in the case of Greece, Italy and other countries.
24:44So we have to have good benchmarks
24:47and we have to apply good medicines to also to our public finance.
24:53But you have to remember, these are different times.
24:56This time is really different.
24:57We have an aggressor.
24:58He's from us.
25:00We have a very difficult situation also in the relations
25:03between Europe and the United States.
25:06So we have to face it
25:07and we have to have money
25:09to simply cover the costs of the reality.
25:12All right, it's time to move to our final round
25:16and that will be yes or no round.
25:23So in this round, I'm going to ask you a series of questions,
25:27short questions and short answers, only yes or no.
25:31Is that easy?
25:32No, it's never easy.
25:34All right, so let's get started.
25:37Is Poland an economic success story?
25:40Yes, yes.
25:42Is 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?
25:55I believe so, yes.
25:56I hope.
25:59All right, not yes or no answer.
26:01Yes, I hope.
26:02Would you vote against the EU-Mercosur agreement?
26:07No.
26:10Yes.
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.
27:15Would you trust the other guests to be Poland's finance minister?
27:19Yes, 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.