Tusk promises Poles will soon be richer than Brits

6 months ago 40

Poland’s GDP per capita could be higher than the UK’s in five years’ time, according to the latest World Bank data, which Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk vowed to make a reality on Wednesday – the day Poland celebrated 20 years as part of the European Union.

“And I promise it: on the 25th anniversary, Poles will be richer than Brits. It’s better to be in the European Union,” the prime minister, who was European Council president when Britons voted in a close referendum to leave the bloc, wrote on X on Wednesday.

At the time of the Brexit referendum, Tusk became a fairly popular figure in the UK and was depicted as an antagonist to then prime minister Theresa May, who struggled to find a consensus between Brussels’ arguments and the demands of the domestic political scene.

One year ago, analysts for the British Labour Party warned that if current trends continued, Britain’s GDP would be about $600 (€562) less than Poland’s by 2030.

The UK was lagging while its European neighbours were getting richer, both to the east and in countries such as France and Germany, the party’s leader, Keir Starmer, argued at the time.

Already back then, Starmer cited World Bank data showing that average economic growth between 2010 and 2021 would be 0.5% for the UK and 3.6% for Poland. The GDP per capita of the two countries would be $45,000 (€42,000) and $35,000 (€33,000) respectively.

Since Poland joined the EU bloc in 2004, its GDP has doubled, according to Finance Ministry data.

In addition, the country’s GDP is 40% higher than it would be if Poland were not a member of the EU, according to the Polish Institute of Economics (PIE).

Poland’s GDP per capita in purchasing power parity terms will reach 99.6% of the EU average in 2033, according to estimates from Credit Agricole Bank Polska.

In 2004 it was only 51.5%, the third lowest in the EU.

(Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | Euractiv.pl)