IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET IN THE EU. A MISSED OPPORTUNITY TO FINANCE THE DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITALISATION IN POLAND FROM THE RECOVERY AND RESILIENCE FACILITY?

Abstract

A rapid spread of digital technologies, services and goods is transforming many economic and social activities, making a great contribution to economic development. The objectives of this paper are to: a/ present and evaluate Poland’s position in the EU digital economy (basing on the Digital Economy and Society Index - DESI); b/ draw conclusions on the role of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan in reducing Poland’s digital gap vis-a-vis other EU members.
The main conclusions are as follows: Poland is not coping well with digitalisation as compared to the EU average. The National Recovery and Resilience Plan, based on financing from the EU funds, offers a chance to improve Poland’s digital presence and international competitiveness. However, the breakdown of spendings proposed in the Plan, both in terms of types of expenses and the proportion of money to be allocated to those projects, does not offer a real breakthrough in digitalisation of Polish economy and reducing the digital gap vis-à-vis majority of EU partners. What is more worrying is the increasing probability that Poland will not obtain most of the EU funds from the Recovery and Resilience Facility because of non-compliance with the EU rule of law.
Research methods: 1/ critical review of international reports and EU documents, 2/ methods of statistical analysis.