English
Obserwator Finansowy features views and analysis of economy in Poland and other countries, written by some of the best journalists, economists and analysts. Our mission is to share knowledge of economics and financial markets in the world.
Obserwator Finansowy is a project under aegis of the Poland’s central bank, Narodowy Bank Polski. We have published thousands of articles about the Polish and global economy. Our journalists have conducted hundreds of interviews with Nobel laureates, distinguished economists, business leaders and politicians with views across the political spectrum.
In this section you can find selected articles in English.
How will the recession look like?
Vedran ObućinaIn the Q1’20, the economy of the European Union and the Eurozone has recorded the biggest decline since 1995, reflecting the introduction of measures to combat COVID 19, Eurostat reported. The seasonally adjusted GDP of...
The problem of state aid in a common market
Filip BrokešAs the EU member states imposed restrictions to protect their citizens from the COVID-19 virus, many businesses across the continent took a strong economic hit. To help with their struggle, EU temporarily loosened...
What will be the shape of the crisis recovery?
Arkadiusz SierońA recession is now inevitable. But it will be followed by a quick recovery? The optimists are hoping for a V-shaped recovery, but it can be a little less vigorous, can require a fiscal and monetary stimulus and take a...
International trade in services is slowing down
Łukasz MatuszczakA significant slowdown in the Polish trade growth in services has been already observed by the end of 2019. The Q4’19 results have been one of the weakest recorded since the end of the global financial crisis The current...
Coronavirus tsunami hits the Ukrainian economy
Michał KozakThe lockdown restrictions and the state of emergency declared by the Ukrainian government are ravaging the already faltering economy of Ukraine. At the end of March 2020, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal presented a...
Ageing economies
Obserwator FinansowyThe population of the already reduced European Union will shrink from 447.2 million in 2020 to 408.2 million by the end of the century. At the same time, there will be 40 million more Europeans 65+ year old than today. For...
Czech budget in the worst shape since 1993
Filip BrokešThe Czech government approved the Finance Ministry’s proposal to increase the state deficit to CZK300bn (EUR10.9bn), up from the previously estimated CZK100bn (EUR3.6bn). This is already the worst budgetary performance...
Central bankers must be able to say no to governments
Sebastian StodolakWe should not compare today’s crisis to the previous one, says Paul Tucker, former Deputy Governor of Bank of England. And what central banks are doing is, according to him, not business as usual but they have a reason: a...
Visegrad Group is less sensitive to the slowdown in Western Europe
Jan BaranThe rate of economic growth in Poland and the Visegrad Group countries (Czech Republic, Hungaary, Slovakia and Poland; V4) has not reflected the markedly weaker economic situation in Germany and the Eurozone countries over...
Recurring fiscal problems
Witold GadomskiSo far, Poland has maintained strong economic growth for several years. Thanks to that, the situation of public finances has also improved. The crisis we will face in the coming months and the need to increase spending to...