Schuman Foundation: European Union pays off
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The average Pole would have earned less than PLN 1,400 gross a month if Poland had not joined the European Union in 2004. The minimum salary would be PLN 800 gross lower than the current one. Our incomes, in real terms 25-30 percent lower, would be at the level of the inhabitants of Bulgaria – the poorest country in the entire Union. These are the conclusions of the report of the Schuman Foundation and the Adenauer Foundation, which summarizes the impact of membership on the Polish economy.
At the macro level, the effects are also respectable. If our country remained outside the community, most likely we would not have recorded an almost uninterrupted, high economic growth for several years in a row. Polish GDP per capita increased during 17 years of membership from 49 percent to 76 percent of the EU-27 average, thanks to which our country has reduced by more than half the economic distance between us and the countries of Western Europe, and has already surpassed some of them. Membership in the EU is responsible for more than half of the total GDP growth recorded by Poland after 2003.
"Contrary to popular opinion, European funds perform only auxiliary functions. The effects of participation in the Single Market are at least three times greater than the commonly perceived benefits from the inflow of EU funds to Poland," Prof. Witold M. Orłowski, scientific coordinator of the report, emphasized.
Full text of the report “Where are the preserves really? The most important economic benefits of Poland's membership in the European Union” is available at schuman.pl/bilansPL.
