On Thursday, October 17 the Ministry of Finance hosted a presentation of the new report of the International Monetary Fund: Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe Regional Economic Issues (CESEE REI). The presentation was given by Mr Reza Moghadam, Director at the European Department, IMF and the following discussion was moderated by Mr Marek Rozkrut, Chief Economist at EY. The introductory remarks were given by Mr Ludwik Kotecki, Counsellor General and Chief Economist of the MoF.
The REI report assesses the consequences of the crisis in the countries of Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe, including Poland. The report discusses the economic outlook of the 22 countries of the region and suggests measures to be taken to boost long-term potential growth, including a more efficient banking sector and business-friendly environment, as well as better strategies to raise employment.
The economic growth issue is the most important problem for the countries in the region, said Mr Kotecki. It is of crucial importance to strengthen growth not only cyclically but also structurally, he added.
Presenting the report Mr Moghadam emphasized that looking at Poland from the perspective of emerging countries is an interesting experience because the country has proven more resilient than its neighbors during the recent crisis. Poland was one of only two states in the region, the second being Albania, that have managed to avoid recession.
Taking into account the areas discussed by the IMF inter alia boosting the tradable sector, improving the investment climate and labour market efficiency, Poland has managed to fare comparatively better than the region as a whole.
That being said, despite the promising results of Poland's efforts, Mr Moghadam underlined that there is still scope for improvement. It remains crucial to make progress across a number of areas – including improving the investment climate and better matching labor skills to market requirements - he said.
During the panel discussion, the following speakers exchanged their views and answered questions from the audience:
Mr Reza Moghadam – Director of the European Department, IMF
Mr Assim Husain – Deputy Director of the European Department, IMF
Mr Bas Bakker – Head of the Emerging Europe Division, European Department, IMF
Mr James Roaf – Senior Resident Representative in Poland, Head of Regional Office, IMF
