10th Anniversary

Today, Poland celebrates its first decade in the European Union. The Polish are known for their hard work and instant adaptation to advantageous social changes, therefore, it was anticipated from the start it would perform well after joining the EU.

After becoming an EU member, Poland has become a “hot destination” for tourists. Million of tourists have visited Polish cities.

With the implementation of EU legislation, phone and data roaming rates dropped fourfold in Poland. In 2007, only 9.2% of Polish citizens traveling to the EU used roaming services. By 2013, this number increased to as high as 60%. Within the country, 673 km of motorways have been built, and 808 km of expressways have been built or modernized.

Experts of the European economy are of the view that joining the EU structures does not automatically translate into a better economic performance and improved standard of living of any member country. Rather, EU membership presents itself as an opportunity, not as a guarantee of development.Capitalizing on opportunity, Poland was intelligent and followed rapid modernization of its economy and obtained a higher level of confidence in the global market, resulting in a more rapid inflow of foreign direct investments than other neighboring EU states. Poland saw an investment and consumption boom, followed by rapid structural changes.

The country converted its economic base and followed the model of a higher share of services and a lower share of agriculture. This shift was possible due to higher productivity of the economy stimulated by technological progress and greater competition in the domestic market, the inflow of FDIs, and increased production of medium and highly processed products.

Poland has moved up from the 48th position in 2004 to the 33rd position in 2013 in the IMD World Competitiveness Center ranking and has achieved a 48.7% growth in its GDP, outperforming other countries in the region. Poland is the only country in the EU to avoid a recession. In 2008–2013, Poland's total GDP increased over 20%. It was by far the best performance in the EU and its pace of growth was faster than in other countries.

Before joining the EU, the GDP per capita in purchasing power standards amounted to 48.8%. In 2012, it amounted to 66.9% – an increase of 18.1 percentage points.

Economic growth has been accompanied by major changes in the labor market. Two million jobs have been created including half a million economically-inactive people who have been employed. In the period 2005-2012, the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion decreased by 7 million, and 1.3 million people were lifted out of poverty.

During the last decade, Poland's share of exports within the EU grew significantly. It was the highest increase of all the countries in the region and the second highest in the EU after The Netherlands who is at the top.

Poland has become one of the leading European producers and exporters in key industrial sectors such as the automotive industry, the electronic and home appliances sectors, and the furniture sector, while it is also an important service provider in the EU market. Poland has become the most desired investment destination in Central and Eastern Europe.

Poland has seen the most rapid growth in the export of its services – an increase in value by 160% of all the countries in the region. This trend was especially visible in the transport, business support, and tourism sectors.www.dnd.com.pk