Infrastructure is lacking despite economic growth in largest of nations about to join European Union
Published:
29 March 2004 y., Monday
Just weeks before Poland joins the European Union on May 1, Warsaw struts a new prosperity. But all is not what it seems: Despite strong economic growth driven by exports, the country faces high unemployment, political uncertainty and deeply rooted corruption.
Paradoxes abound. Those who can afford new Volvos or BMWs must still drive them along potholed roads. The hip cafes that draw fashionable young people are often housed in drab Stalinist-era concrete block buildings.
And many of the luxury goods for sale in the bright new shops and malls remain off-limits to many in Poland, where only 1 percent earn above $18,000 a year.
Such contrasts exist in all eight former communist states due to join the EU, but the stakes are highest in Poland, the largest of the new countries.
With more than 38 million people, Poland accounts for 52 percent of the new EU citizens. Poles will be 8.4 percent of the union’s population, so its economy performance will have a major impact on the rest of the bloc, the world’s largest economic union.
Analysts say that Poland’s greatest economic strength is the many modern, efficient companies that have made the transition and are already selling successfully to EU countries.
Ten years ago, Polish exports consisted mostly of raw products like coal, sulfur, apples and meat. Today, exports also include higher-value goods like precision surgical instruments, pharmaceuticals and car engines.
Šaltinis:
detnews.com
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
European Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas, responsible for transport, today presented to the College a preliminary assessment of the economic consequences for the air transport industry of the volcanic ash crisis.
more »
Boosting economic recovery, investing in Europe's youth and in tomorrow's infrastructures are the priorities of the 2011 draft budget adopted by the Commission on 27 April 2010.
more »
European Competition Commissioner Joaquín Almunia welcomes proposed commitments by Visa Europe to significantly cut its multilateral interchange fees (MIFs) for debit card payments.
more »
Because of the Icelandic volcano, flower growers in Colombia couldn't get their stems to markets in Europe.
more »
The Second Vice President of the Spanish government and Minister of Economy and Finance, Elena Salgado, on Sunday played down the importance of apparent fissures within the EU concerning the Greek financial crisis, expressing her confidence that all countries would support the aid package for this country, which will be accompanied by a tough budget-tightening plan.
more »
Commission launches an information campaign on the CE conformity mark - designed to ease the free movement of goods around Europe and protect consumers.
more »
If Europe's airports ever open again the introduction of new security measures like body scanners will be expensive.
more »
After Eurozone Finance Ministers agreed measures to address Greece’s financial woes last Sunday, MEPs quizzed leading economic figures, including the chairman of Goldman Sachs - former financial advisors to the Greek government - on how to strengthen EU economic governance and improve reporting of national statistics.
more »
The European Tourism Stakeholders Conference, being held in Madrid today and tomorrow, will explore ways and means to strengthen the visibility of tourism at a European level and to verify how the actions to promote a competitive EU tourism industry.
more »
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), World Bank Group member IFC, and The Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) have joined up with the Asia Debt Management Hong Kong (ADM Capital) to establish a regional fund to invest in midsize companies facing financing difficulties as a result of the financial crisis.
more »