21:52 16 May 2022
Polish economy most threatened by war
At the beginning of February, before Russia's attack on Ukraine, the European Commission was still giving us quite optimistic growth forecasts. But the latest estimates nearly doubled inflation and cut GDP growth for the current year by a third. Worse times are coming for the EU as a whole.
According to the European Commission's "spring forecast" published on Monday, Poland's gross domestic product is expected to grow by 3.7 percent this year and by 3 percent next year. As recently as in February, growth rates of 5.5 percent and 4.2 percent respectively were forecast.
"Poland appears to be most at risk from the economic impact of the war, largely reflecting its relatively high trade exposure and the importance of energy in the household consumption basket," the EC report said.
It pointed out that one reason for the deceleration will be rising interest rates.
“Costs related to the war on our eastern border will increase the deficit of public finances to 4 percent of GDP," the Commission analysts estimated.
