Poland has been singled out as a success story of European integration by Antonio Costa, president of the European Council, who told an audience in Warsaw that the country had become the bloc’s sixth-largest economy in just over two decades of membership.
Speaking at the opening of the academic year at the College of Europe’s Natolin campus on Monday, Costa highlighted Poland’s rapid economic development since it joined the EU in 2004. According to Polsat News, he said the country was now on track to become the world’s 20th-largest economy, approaching Switzerland in economic terms.
“Just 22 years after joining the EU, Poland, thanks to economic growth exceeding 3 per cent annually, is today the sixth-largest economy in the Community and is heading towards the position of the 20th economy in the world,” Costa said.
Transformation since the fall of communism
Costa noted the stark contrast between Poland’s current position and its situation in 1992, when the College of Europe campus in Natolin was established. At that time, in the final years of communism, GDP per capita stood at just one-tenth of today’s level, he pointed out.
The Council president credited both the hard work of Polish people and EU integration for the country’s development. Citing economists’ estimates, he said Polish GDP per capita is roughly 40 per cent higher than it would have been without EU membership.
“This was made possible by dynamic export growth and integration into European supply chains. Around two and a half million Polish citizens have exercised their right to free residence and work within the EU. While contributing to the economies of the countries where they worked, they also brought back new skills and experience to their own country,” Costa said.
Defence and security transformation
The European Council president also highlighted Poland’s security transformation. He recalled that in 1992, 50,000 Russian soldiers were still stationed on Polish soil, and described NATO accession as another crucial step in the country’s journey.
“Today Poland has the third-largest army in NATO and the largest in the EU,” Costa observed.
He warned that the conditions that enabled Poland’s transformation were not guaranteed to last, pointing to the war in Ukraine as a threat to other countries and describing Poland as being on the front line of European security. Costa said Russia had repeatedly threatened EU member states over the past year, increasingly turning hybrid threats into hybrid attacks.
Call for further EU enlargement
Costa used his speech to call for accelerating the expansion of the European Union to include new member states. He said Ukraine’s membership application had given fresh momentum to the accession process, encompassing not only Ukraine but also Moldova and all six Western Balkans partner countries.
The Council president expressed hope that negotiations on EU accession for Ukraine and Moldova would gain pace before the end of the year. “We must seize the opportunity before us. We must leave behind the history of divisions and fragmentation and embrace a common European future once and for all. Let’s make enlargement a reality,” Costa said.
What this means for Poles in Poland
Antonio Costa’s remarks offer official recognition of Poland’s economic achievements within the EU framework. For Poles living in the country, the economic data underlines how integration has reshaped living standards: GDP per capita has risen tenfold since the early 1990s, with EU membership contributing an estimated 40 per cent premium over what would have been achieved otherwise.
The statement that around 2.5 million Polish citizens have exercised freedom of movement rights reflects the scale of emigration that has shaped Poland’s demographics and labour market over the past two decades. Costa’s positive framing suggests EU institutions view this mobility as beneficial both to host countries and to Poland through skills transfer and remittances.
With Poland now holding the largest military in the EU and the third-largest in NATO, the country’s role as a security anchor on the bloc’s eastern flank is increasingly acknowledged at the highest levels. Costa’s call for faster EU enlargement, particularly for Ukraine and Moldova, signals that Poland’s experience may serve as a template for future accessions, though the geopolitical context—including ongoing hybrid threats from Russia—remains more challenging than during Poland’s own accession process.
