European Commission,
Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs,

Seminar
Poland at a crossroads: how can the economy benefit more from EU accession?
Brussels, 23 January 2008

Poland joined the EU in 2004 and has enjoyed a strong cyclical upswing with unemployment falling considerably. However, real convergence has been slower than in some other Member States and the gap between Poland and the wealthier EU countries remains large.

Scope of the seminar
The aim of the seminar is to assess current developments and prospects for the Polish economy, including any policy lessons that can be drawn for Poland and other new member states with respect to promoting growth and convergence. The first session will analyse the drivers of growth and catching-up in order to assess if there have been missed opportunities in Poland and if there is room for policy action to strengthen potential growth. The second session will focus on public finances, which make up a large share of the economy relative to the level of economic development. The structure of expenditure and taxation will be examined with a particular view to structural reform and sectoral adjustment. The seminar will conclude with a panel discussion on maximising the opportunities from EU Accession.

List of speakers
The provisional list of speakers includes: Marek GÓRA, (Warsaw School of Economics), Mirosław GRONICKI (former Finance Minister), Jerzy HAUSNER (University of Cracow, former Deputy Prime Minister), Janusz JANKOWIAK (Polish Business Roundtable), Jerzy PRUSKI (National Bank of Poland), Michał RUTKOWSKI (Worldbank), Jan SVEJNAR (University of Michigan), Katarzyna ZAJDEL-KUROWSKA (Ministry of Finance), and Klaus REGLING, Marco BUTI, Elena FLORES, Istvan SZEKELY and Filip KEEREMAN from DG ECFIN.

Documents

Programme

Registration

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