The bank said last week that it had revised its GDP growth forecast for Poland "upwards to 2.9 percent for 2024, from a forecast of 2.7 percent in September 2023."
In 2023, the Polish economy "stagnated on the back of a drop in private consumption and heavy destocking," according to the EBRD.
"The upward revision for 2024 reflects strong growth in the first half of the year, driven by domestic demand and EU-funded investments, in part as a result of falling inflation and relatively loose fiscal policy," the bank said on its website.
It added that, despite the expected growth performance, potential risks to economic recovery include Poland’s fiscal deficit, which exceeded the EU's fiscal rules in 2023 and is likely to remain high in 2024.
According to the EBRD, fiscal consolidation and reforms are needed to reduce the deficit and boost growth potential.
A possible resurgence of inflation may also impede recovery, it warned.
The bank highlighted Poland's "EU accession bonus" – the fast growth of per capita income experienced by the country over the last two decades thanks to its European Union membership.
"This high growth is attributed, among other factors, to a rapid growth in exports relative to GDP as Poland became deeply integrated into European and global supply chains," the bank said in a report.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is an international financial institution that supports projects in more than 30 countries.
The EBRD is among the leading institutional investors in Poland. Since the start of its operations in the country in 1991, the bank has invested more than EUR 14 billion in over 500 projects.
Last year, the bank invested a record EUR 1.3 billion in Poland, according to the ebrd.com website.
(gs)
Source: polskieradio24.pl, ebrd.com