• Poland is in the lead in attracting greenfield investments.
• In the pandemic times there is still a visible increase in transactions on online platforms.
• Poland wants to strengthen cooperation in the Weimar Triangle, with Germany and France being our most important trade partners.

"The time of the pandemic has shown in e-commerce sales a huge commitment of financial resources to instruments that expand the digitisation potential of large, medium and small companies,”

- said Deputy Minister of Development and Technology Olga Semeniuk at the panel "Digital boom? The future of the European digital market in light of the DMA - Digital Markets Act'.

"The Polish economy has coped with the Covid-19 pandemic remarkably well. We estimate that real Polish GDP has already returned to pre-pandemic levels in the second quarter of 2021”

- informed Deputy Minister Marek Niedużak in the debate entitled. "Economic strategy for the new decade".

State of the Polish economy after the pandemic

Challenges facing the Polish and European economies were among the main topics discussed during EFNI debates with the participation of Deputy Ministers for Development and Technology.

In the discussion, Deputy Minister Niedużak emphasised that the emerging economies of Central and Eastern Europe can become major beneficiaries of shortening supply chains, while digitisation and automation of companies and new investments are an opportunity for further development of the Polish economy.

He informed about very good indicators of attracting new greenfield investments to the Vistula. According to the fDi Markets report, in 2020. Poland ranked fifth in Europe in terms of the number of declared investment projects (378 projects) and third in terms of their value (EUR 20.1 billion).

Our economy is attracting a record number of investments in the Polish Investment Zone. By the end of September 2021, we have issued 365 decisions to support new investments within the PSI. Their value amounts to PLN 15.7 billion, which is expected to translate into 8.8 thousand new jobs. By comparison, by September 2019, it was 225 decisions. In the case of investment value, it has also already managed to reach the result of the whole of 2019 in September, which ended with the declaration of 15.3 billion in investment value.

Digital boom

The digital boom and the future of the European digital market in light of the DMA was discussed at EFNI by Deputy Minister of Development and Technology Olga Semeniuk.

Digital Markets Act is supposed to ensure fair relations between the platform and companies using its services and guarantee openness and competition in the digital market. It may also contribute to the emergence of alternative platforms that can give high-quality innovative products and services on competitive terms and at affordable prices.

"Poland has consistently supported the draft DMA regulation as part of a package aimed at regulating the activities of large platforms in the areas of digital services and digital markets," - Olga Semeniuk stated.

The Deputy Minister stressed that in recent years we have had a significant increase in the importance of online platforms in concluding transactions between sellers and buyers. The importance and use of e-commerce especially increased in the Covid 19 pandemic.

She also pointed out that platforms have brought significant benefits to consumers and opened up new opportunities for European companies and entrepreneurs - facilitating cross-border trade, contributing to the creation of a European Digital Single Market.

Strengthening cooperation in the Weimar Triangle

"Economic ties between Poland, Germany and France have strengthened strongly in recent years," - said Deputy Minister Niedużak at the panel entitled “The Business Weimar Triangle. Key challenges facing the European economy".

The deputy minister noted that Germany is Poland's most important trade partner, and France is in fourth place. The trade exchange with both countries is likely to soon exceed 150 billion EUR.

According to Marek Niedużak, the Weimar Triangle can be a driving force for the European Union, including the strengthening of its single market. "We want to strengthen cooperation between Poland, Germany and France in the Weimar Triangle and use its format to discuss green and energy transformation, industrial policy and improving the competitiveness of the Union's economy," the deputy minister added.

The Deputy Minister pointed out that a key task for the EU is to ensure public acceptance of the energy transition and maintain industrial competitiveness. "We must ensure that our pursuit of this objective does not result in a clearly negative balance of benefits and losses for both industry and consumers," - he said.

He recalled that Poland has for many years consistently stressed that the green transition must be fair. It cannot worsen economic conditions in particular regions and social groups.

EFNI is organised by Konfederacja Lewiatan in cooperation with BusinessEurope and the authorities of Sopot. This year's session was the 10th anniversary edition of these meetings. As every year, it gathered over a thousand guests - representatives of European politics, business, authorities from the world of science and culture.