Marek Tatala

The Polish economy depends on deregulation not becoming a passing trend or an episode of the election campaign. Deregulation has the potential to be a major driver of growth. If there were a contest for the economic buzzword of the year in Poland, “deregulation” would be a frontrunner. Thanks to Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s meeting with entrepreneurs in February 2025, the issue briefly rose to the forefront of Polish politics.

“More free market or more government? How to strengthen post-pandemic recovery?”. It was the title of a panel hosted by the FOR during the Economic Forum in Karpacz, Poland, the largest conference of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe. The panel was supported by Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom. Agata Stremecka, President of FOR, moderated the discussion.

While digitalization has been advancing in many aspects of human life, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated changes in workplaces, trade, doing business, healthcare, education, public administration, and many other spheres.

The Polish government’s war with both Brussels and a significant part of the Polish population over the rule of law is against Poland’s national interests. On October 26, the European Parliament adopted a resolution criticizing the Polish Constitutional Tribunal’s decision to ban over 95% of legal abortions in Poland.

Defenders of Poland’s success story may sometimes hear that they focus too much on economic advances, prosperity, and GPD growth instead of thinking about the actual lives of “average people” and the “social costs” of Poland’s transformation.

The Nanny State Index 2019 measures the level of restrictive regulations governing the sale and consumption of food, non-alcoholic beverages, alcohol, tobacco, and e-cigarettes. The higher a country\'s ranking, the more restrictive the regulations.

Swedish think-tank Timbro presented the subsequent edition of the Authoritarian Populism Index. The aim of the index is chiefly to determine to what extent populist parties can pose a real threat to liberal democracy in the European Union and five other countries on the continent.

In 2017, the Cambridge Dictionary proclaimed “populism” the word of the year. There are many definitions of the term, still, it always evokes strong emotions. One of the definitions of populism in politics was proposed by the Swedish think tank Timbro.

The tax and social security system operating in Poland, based on the traditional employer-employee relationship, does not fit into the world of online platforms combining the service providers of the sharing economy directly with their clients.

The rule of law is an “essential guardian of freedom,” as emphasized by Fred McMahon, from the Fraser Institute, in the Foreword to the most recent edition of the Human Freedom Index.6 The rule of law is also an important element of a sound democracy.