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Essor économique de la Pologne: peut-il durer? The Ring à Varsovie
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The Ring se rend dans la capitale polonaise pour un débat politique sur la transformation économique du pays et les défis à venir.
LIRE L’ARTICLE : http://fr.euronews.com/2026/10/08/essor-economique-de-la-pologne-peut-il-durer-the-ring-a-varsovie
Abonnez-vous à notre chaine. Euronews est disponible sur Dailymotion en 12 langues
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NewsTranscription
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?
00:33Let'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
00:44countries and its economic weight is increasingly being felt across Europe.
00:49The country has benefited from EU membership, foreign investment and the expansion of its
00:54domestic businesses. But its growth has also been supported by rising public spending including
00:59on defense, infrastructure and social programs.
01:02Now Poland faces a different question. Is the model sustainable? The country is trying
01:07to maintain rapid growth while dealing with a large budget deficit, high defense spending
01:12and pressure to modernize its economy.
01:14At the same time, the war in Ukraine and tensions with Russia are giving Poland a bigger strategic
01:19role. Its 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? And can the country leverage its growing financial
01:35and 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. He has served in the European
01:59Parliament since 2019 and is a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee
02:04on Security and Defense. A former long-serving member of the Polish parliament, he has focused
02:08on European security, transatlantic relations and support for Ukraine. He said, Poland's
02:13economic strength and its security are increasingly connected. A strong economy gives us the ability
02:19to invest in defense and play a greater role in Europe.
02:23Michał Koboszko, a Polish MEP from the Liberal Renew Europe Group. He has a background in journalism
02:29and business and 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, 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.
02:57So, 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, but also the current government, which
03:24created a lot of opportunities to allow our employers, our enterprises to use the EU funds.
03:35And, of course, we are looking with a hope to the next MFF, which will be extremely important for Poland
03:43because of the defense industry, because of the resilience, but also tools to competitiveness.
03:51Pols are very specific, our nation. We are very dynamic, very entrepreneurial, and we are, let's say, hungry for success.
03:59And we were kept – that was not our real, it was not our choice. We were kept behind the
04:05iron curtain for almost half a century.
04:08And 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, and obviously the decisive moment was when we first joined the
04:26NATO, and then joined the EU.
04:28This is the moment where we started really to become part of the international family, and we started using the
04:35EU 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,
04:56because we know that we are in a bit challenging, I would say, or dangerous path right now with our
05:03state budget and budget deficit.
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, is that, you know, the conditions in which they operate
05:18should 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, so we need simplification and deregulation
05:37on the European level and on the Polish level as well.
05:41I 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, which also means that
05:53our next budget, multi-annual budget,
05:57has to concentrate on the security, defence, resilience and space policy.
06:03This is extremely important to have this new tool of European Competitiveness Fund, also the instrument connecting Europe and a
06:15lot of money which we can use on military mobility and dual use infrastructure.
06:20Do you think Poland is still catching up with the West or maybe we are now stronger when it comes
06:27to the economy than our Western neighbours?
06:30Well, the figures, the statistics are objective and the figures clearly present that Poland today is one of the fastest
06:38growing 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, because as I said in the beginning, we didn't have a
06:57choice.
06:58Right now, when we have a choice, we have a clear vision and the clear vision is not only to
07:03catch up.
07:04The clear vision is to become a leader, one of the key leading countries and agenda setting countries in the
07:11European 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, which 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 and 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.
08:07Again, 5% of GDP.
08:12Again, 200 billion zlots on defense.
08:20So it is just the indicator how we treat this issue seriously.
08:25But of course, we also use the safe instrument, the European loans very effectively.
08:34And what's 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, strategic corridors,
08:57but also hotspots we need to strengthen, like 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 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, the taxpayers' money.
09:29It's just that we feel, and this is kind of a general feeling across the society, that we do not
09:35have 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, not to prepare the country for the war, but
09:47to deter the aggressor,
09:49so that the Russians would not even start thinking about invading Poland or starting any kind of direct aggression against
09:57us.
09:57That's the whole thing, and this is one thing that is really common across the society.
10:03Whether you are on the left side, right side, in the center, there's an understanding in Poland that the threat,
10:10the clear and present danger that Russia continues to present is a very clear reality that we have to face.
10:19All right, so we are just getting started and turning the heat up because it's time for round two, gloves
10:26off.
10:31In this round, we would like to bring the spirit of the European Parliament here to our studio.
10:37This is why you have a chance to ask each other questions, short questions, short answers.
10:44Let's start with your question to Michał Szczerba.
10:48Michał Szczerba, perhaps, I don't know if you share my view, I have this feeling that we've been a member
10:55of the European Union for 22 years already,
10:59and I have this feeling that we are not sufficiently represented or presenting our views, our ideas in Brussels, in
11:09Strasbourg,
11:09that our voice is not loud enough. Do you share this view, or do you believe that we are where
11:15we should be?
11:16I really appreciate your work, and also I work hard at my committees, which are, first of all, Security and
11:23Defence Committee, a new one in the European Parliament.
11:26But I agree with you that just before the next MFF, it's not only yours and mine activity in the
11:37European Parliament.
11:37It's also a time for Polish enterprises to be really prepared to use the new tools which we will deliver,
11:48like European Competitiveness Fund with four main windows,
11:52including security, defence and space. So we know how to use the money. We approve this and we approved the
12:04projects, but also we make the best use of the safe instrument.
12:08But now it will be much more complicated, because we have to compete with other companies, with other, let's say,
12:16governments, with the best project that will contribute to common defence and capabilities.
12:24So now it's time for your question to Mikhail Kobosko.
12:29I would like to ask you a question about next year, because it's 2027, we have elections in Poland, in
12:39France, of course, your political group is connected to President Macron and to his party.
12:47We have Italy, we have Italy, we have Spain. How important this year will be for the European unity and
12:55what we can expect?
12:57Well, definitely I will not surprise you saying that this is going to be a decisive year for Europe and
13:04not only for the next year, but for the coming years and decades.
13:09Because these elections and the outcome will tell us what kind of direction Europe will choose, meaning the key countries
13:19of the European Union that you mentioned, Poland, France, Spain, Italy, also some elections, regional elections in Germany as well.
13:29So these things are happening and will be happening next year regarding Poland, because that's a key issue for us.
13:37In our case, this will be an election, kind of a black and white election.
13:42So either Poland will go this way or that way.
13:44I'd love for Poland to keep our pro-European, pro-Western direction and not to be redirected into kind of
13:54a, I would say, a grey zone that some of our colleagues, especially from the far right, are dreaming of.
14:00There is no place in Europe nowadays for a grey zone.
14:04You have to be on the right side or you're on the evil side.
14:09There is a chance to ask Michal Szczerba one more question, so please go ahead.
14:14Michal, do you believe in the idea of the European army, simply?
14:19Because there are conversations whether the NATO will be the same as it is today, whether Americans will stay or
14:26will leave.
14:27Do you believe that we might be going into the direction of forming our own European armed forces?
14:33I would like to quote Polish general, General Bwaseusz, who 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 in the history.
14:55and we have to strengthen the organization, our also contingency plans we have on the eastern flank.
15:04But the EU has a special role to play with infrastructure, with dual use rule as a standard for all
15:16investments.
15:17When we are talking and discussing, also Michal is helping with this, with our metro development in Warsaw.
15:26Each of this can be used also as a good space to secure people in the times of crisis.
15:33So the EU coming back to regulation on military mobility, on defensive simplification for the industry and budget has a
15:45lot to play.
15:45So to make it equal, please a short question.
15:50A short answer.
15:51Okay.
15:53How do you find the European Commission in the frames of defence readiness?
16:02We have a new commissioner, Andreas 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, but also a bit more general, not only
16:23related 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 and so on being delivered on time by the commission.
16:38So we cannot criticise them for that.
16:41It's just that the issues, the ideas, the solutions they are proposing are not being implemented yet.
16:48And we have a huge problem of the implementation, generally speaking, in the European project that we are not, you
16:57know, we are pretty smart in Europe.
16:59I believe so.
17:00It's just that, you know, the decision making process is a terrible process in the European Union.
17:06You know how long it takes in the European Parliament to reach a consensus, to reach a compromise.
17:11But then you have to talk to the commission, then you have to talk to the member states.
17:16And it's 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 Radoslav Sikorsky, who is a minister of foreign affairs of Poland, who said in Kyiv,
17:41if Russia attacked us and we took the gloves off, we 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 within six months, we could do it in
17:58six weeks.
17:59Do you agree with what Radoslav Sikorsky said about Polish capacity to defeat Russia quickly if under attack?
18:08Michal Kobosko first.
18:09Well, I believe that minister Sikorsky's words meant not only he was not only talking on behalf of Poland.
18:17He was talking on behalf of the Western alliance on allied countries, the NATO allies, because, yes, we as a
18:27community, international Western community, we are much stronger than Russia.
18:32However, I have to say, not a single European NATO member would be able to effectively defend itself without the
18:42help and without the cooperation with other allies.
18:45That's the reality today.
18:47This is why the international cooperation in the defense and security area matters so much, that we are stronger together.
18:55Not alone.
18:57Not that we are weak alone, it'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.
19:07I also really keen on EU security and defense partnerships with the like-minded countries like the UK, Norway or
19:20Canada.
19:21We have so good relations with this country.
19:27But, of course, we have to deter, we have to be prepared, to be ready.
19:33And if something will happen, I hope no, will not, we have to react with courage and assertivity.
19:43OK, we'll take a short break in the ring, but please stay with us, because we'll come back with much
19:50more.
19:59Welcome back to the special edition of The Ring, broadcasting from Warsaw.
20:05My name is Agata Todorov and I'm joined by Michal Szczerba from EPP and Michal Kobosko from Renew Europe.
20:13Gentlemen, let's come back to the main topic of today's debate, which is Polish economy.
20:19So GDP growth of this year is around 3,5% and the deficit 6,5% up to 7
20:28% of GDP.
20:30So the main question to you is how Poland can remain an economic power with such large budget deficit, Michal
20:39Szczerba?
20:39You know, of course, the GDP growth is amazing and we should continue to do so with, of course, our
20:50businesses and the government supports the 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, first
21:12of all, but what is more complicated, within the executive power, we also have the position of the president.
21:21It's not easy, 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 next month.
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.
21:55And many people, our colleagues in the European Parliament coming from other member states are saying, wow, Poland is fantastic.
22:02Because some of them are, you know, zero growth, 1% growth while we are close to four.
22:07So that's, that's pretty impressive, but obviously always there is a price.
22:11And 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 governments and our Minister of Finance that
22:33he's dealing with, because the European Union 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.
22:50Because I 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, 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, 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 country.
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, and generally understood and accepted across the
24:16member state.
24:17Perhaps in this times, which are far from, from very far from, uh, normality, we should change the rules that,
24:24uh, oblige 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 a 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.
25:05So we have to face it and we have to have money to simply cover the costs of the, of
25:12the reality.
25:13All right.
25:14It'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.
25:37Sure.
25:37Is Poland an economic success story?
25:40Yes.
25:41Yes.
25:42Is Poland still economically dependent on Germany?
25:46In a way, yes.
25:48I would say no.
25:50All right.
25:50Should Poland join the Eurozone within the next decade?
25:54I believe so.
25:56Yes.
25:56I hope.
25:58All right.
26:00Not yes or no answer.
26:01Yes.
26:01I 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?
26:19Yes.
26:21Yes.
26:21All right.
26:22Will the war in Ukraine ultimately make Poland stronger?
26:29Well, yes.
26:30Look, what's happening in Ukraine is obviously horrible and you cannot say that once, you know, they are unhappy, we
26:40will 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. Would you trust the other
27:16guests 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.
27:35Thank you for watching and see you next time on Euronews.