Poland celebrates third anniversary as EU member

KUWAIT: Poland's economic growth and most current macroeconomic indicators serve as an example of the European Union's successful model of integration and development. At a press conference held on the occasion of the country's third anniversary since joining the European Union, and also marking 50 years of the Treaties of Rome, the Charge d'Affairs of the Polish embassy in Kuwait made a brief summary of the country's economic performance. Robert Dziedzic, Charge d'Affairs of the Polish embassy in Kuwait and Tomasz Sadzinski, Third Secretary of the Polish embassy in Kuwait, hosted the press event in the Polish embassy in Jabriya yesterday.

Polish exports last year grew over 22 percent last year, which as Dziedzic pointed out "is an enormous number in one year". Unemployment dropped down from almost 19 percent to 14 percent. "It is still one of the highest in the European Union but this is a huge change on a positive side," elaborated Dziedzic. Dwelling on the GDP growth, he explained that the expectations for the GDP growth were 5.8 percent while the latest data shows that last year the GDP grew 6.1 percent. He added that the budget deficit, which was expected to be $10 billion, was some $8 billion.

Poland, a country of 40 million people, joined the European Union family in 2004. The sixth most populated country in the EU, according to Tomasz, Poland is an important EU border country, neighbouring Belarus, Ukraine and Russia (Kaliningrad enclave). Poland is expected to join the EU Schengen area with a unified visa system this year and is obliged to adopt the Euro (the EU's common currency) with plans to do it by 2011.

Assessing the positive influence from Poland's EU membership Tomasz introduced some figures. In 2006, Polish exports rose by 22 percent and reached the record level of $118.5 billion. In 2006 the GDP of Poland rose by 6.1 percent. In 2000 Poland had a trade deficit with EU countries of over $11 billion in 2006, it had a trade surplus of $6.5 billion.

In the period from 2004 to 2006 the unemployment rate in Poland dropped almost four percent. In 2006, foreign investors allocated $14.7 billion in Poland for green field investments. An important economy within the EU, with its GDP of over $300 billion, Poland is the 23rd economy in the world according to the World Bank (2006), Tomasz said.

In 2005, Poland sold around $70 billion worth of exports to EU countries, which represented 77.2 percent of Polish exports in total. Moreover, in 2006 exports of foodstuff, mainly to EU, were at record levels of $11.5 billion with 20 percent growth, Tomasz added.

According to him, Poland's main trade partners for exports in 2005 were Germany, France, Italy, Great Britain and the Czech Republic. Only between 2004 and 2006 did Poland receive $15.4 billion from the EU structural funds, Tomasz observed, and in the period 2007 to 2013 Poland is expected to receive over $90 billion from EU structural funds.

The people of Poland have embarked on the country's EU integration path voting in a referendum held prior to the country's accession. Some 64 percent of the Poles are convinced that EU membership has more advantages than disadvantages, Tomasz said. In his words, almost 75 percent of Poles voted they were convinced that EU membership was supportive of the Polish economy. Some 58 percent of Poles believe that the EU membership increased Poland's security and 58 voted they are convinced the membership enhanced the Polish role in Europe.

Source: By Velina Nacheva, .kuwaittimes.net