Affari & Finanza, the economics and finance supplement of La Repubblica, Italy’s daily newspaper, published an article analysing Poland’s economic transformation and its use of EU membership to drive structural change and sustained growth. The piece highlights how Poland has become one of the European Union’s most dynamic economies, with strong productivity gains and effective use of EU cohesion funds.
Speaking to La Repubblica, Izabela Wnuk-Soares, senior research officer at RFBerlin, noted:
“Last year we celebrated twenty years since Poland joined the European Union – a crucial moment that triggered a series of strategic and structural changes. According to some estimates, Poland’s per capita GDP would be 30–40% lower today without EU accession.”
She also reflected on how outward migration and remittances helped stabilise the Polish economy in earlier decades:
“Those peaks of unemployment were mitigated by a massive wave of emigration. Polish workers, especially those welcomed in the United Kingdom, began to send generous remittances home, amounting temporarily to 3–4% of GDP. In the meantime, rising wages attracted many back to Poland and further strengthened domestic consumption.”
The full article, “La rinascita europea di Varsavia” (eng.: The European rebirth of Warsaw), appeared in La Repubblica Affari & Finanza on 3 November 2025.
