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Does Poland count in Europe or is it ignored? [427]
Very good point...Now, what is the trade relationship between Poland and Germany?...Is it a case of using cheap Polish labor, or would/does Germany invest in building the Polish economy?...Certainly, Poland and Germany should be good neighbors, since they are next door to each other...Are there Polish businessmen who would like some German expertise, and does the Polish government encourage this?
I think the more and the sooner Poland catches up to the "oldies" the more it will become a mutual interchange...I don't see anything what should keep that from happening?
(Germany is already the biggest investor in Poland I believe)auswaertiges-amt.de/diplo/en/Laenderinformationen/01-Laender/Polen.html
Economic relations
The Polish economy has successfully withstood the global economic crisis. For example, Poland was the only EU country to record positive GDP growth this year (1st quarter of 2009: plus 1.9 per cent; 2nd quarter: plus 1.1 per cent).
Since Poland joined the EU in 2004, German-Polish trade has gained momentum. For many years, Germany has been Poland's most important trading partner by far, and Poland is becoming increasingly important for the German economy as its principal business partner in Central and Eastern Europe, ranking an impressive eleventh in 2008.
Even in 2008, a year increasingly overshadowed by the international financial and economic crisis, bilateral trade still grew by 10 per cent, to EUR 66.3 billion, according to Federal Statistical Office figures.
The principal German exports are machinery and electrical goods, plant, motor vehicles, chemical and plastic products. Poland's main exports to Germany are machinery, vehicles, household appliances, (white goods and television sets), chemical products, food and furniture.
In terms of both the number of investors and the total amount invested, Germany is probably the leading supplier of foreign capital to Poland. Since Poland's change of political system in 1989/1990, German direct investments of at least EUR one million in the country have been worth some EUR 19 billion (including EUR 2.8 billion in 2007). On top of this are the investments by small and medium-sized companies, especially in the border region, which do not appear in statistics. Most German investments are greenfield investments, only a small portion being made through takeovers or in connection with the privatization of state-owned enterprises. German companies are also investing increasingly in technologically advanced manufacturing and services and are expanding their research and development activities in Poland.
Major German investments in Poland focus on the automotive and mechanical engineering industries, the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, banking and insurance, the wholesale and retail trade as well as the energy sector. Also of increasing importance is business process outsourcing, e.g. in the IT sector.
Poland's accession to the Schengen area, with the abolition of passport controls at the German-Polish border on 21 December 2007, has further facilitated cross-border cooperation.
See? EU is good for our both countries...