Rola funduszy europejskich w dywersyfikacji kierunku polskiego eksportu

Niniejsza praca jest poświęcona zagadnieniu roli funduszy europejskich oraz instrumentów wsparcia polskich podmiotów w dywersyfikacji naszego eksportu. Na podstawie analizy teoretyczno-empirycznej, obejmującej m.in. raporty i opracowania Komisji Europejskiej, Organizacji Współpracy Gospodarczej i Rozwoju (OECD), Głównego Urzędu Statystycznego, Ministerstwa Gospodarki, Światowej Organizacji Handlu, Narodowego Banku Polskiego, a także na podstawie opracowań: Polskiej Agencji Rozwoju Przedsiębiorczości, Stowarzyszenia Eksporterów Polskich, Banku PEKAO S.A. oraz Instytutu Badań Rynku, Konsumpcji i Koniunktur, dokonano diagnozy wdrażania instrumentów promocji polskiego eksportu, które odpowiadają na potrzebę jego większej geograficznej dywersyfikacji. Stwierdzono, że dotychczasowy nacisk na eurocentryzm polskiego eksportu, choć niepozbawiony argumentów merytorycznych, zdecydowanie ogranicza możliwości dalszego rozwoju ekspansji zagranicznej polskich firm.O ile w latach 2007−2013 fundusze unijne spełniły ważną rolę w dynamice rozwoju polskiego eksportu, o tyle krajowe programy wsparcia dla polskich eksporterów, a w szczególności na rzecz większego geograficznego zróżnicowania ich aktywności, oceniono krytycznie. Na podstawie przyjętych kryteriów wskazano w pracy inne rynki, które mogłyby stać się atrakcyjne dla polskich eksporterów. A także zaprezentowano i uzasadniono konieczność wprowadzenia dodatkowych instrumentów promocji polskiego eksportu, które sprawiłyby, iż pożądana jego dywersyfikacja, byłaby bardziej realna.

The doctoral dissertation is devoted to the analysis of the Polish export and the distribution of the EU funds. Export in this context understood mainly in terms of its directions and the structure of exporters. EU funds in terms of whether the support instruments, offered to companies, gave an opportunity to promote companies planning to expand into distant markets. And, what is most important, markets outside the EU. Together, these elements should help to verify the main hypothesis set for the work.And it states, that the rules for the implementation of export promotion instruments are insufficiently responsive to the needs for the greater geographical diversification of the Polish export.In order to verify the hypothesis of the thesis it was necessary to recognize the structure of the Polish export, to identify the most important trading partners of our country and to recognize the rules and legal restrictions in the scope of export supporting programs. The last one is important in the context of our membership in the European Union and the operation of a single (common) market and our participation in the World Trade Organization (state aid rules, dumping, and subsidies). Finally, it was necessary to analyze the instruments supporting entrepreneurs and offered in “operational programs” co-financed by the European funds (mainly the European Regional Development Fund).The results of the research confirmed the set hypothesis. Polish export is strongly dependent on Europe, its economic condition and demand. It is enough to mention that – in the analyzed period of 2007-2015 – almost 90 percent of the export went to Europe. And only to five EU countries: Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy and the Czech Republic that were responsible for 50 percent of the Polish export. It may happen therefore, that any economic disruption in these countries may affect the value of the Polish export, in decreasing its level and, in consequence, may influence the exporter’s country economy.In addition, Polish companies do not use the potential of many of the world's major importers. Thus, it should be noted that the United States and China are the major importers in the world; not Germany or France. Japan, South Korea, Canada, India and Mexico have high positions in the global ranking, too. It is also worth mentioning some of the dynamically developing African countries. Despite some progress, just a few Polish companies export their products there. There is a lot of work to do, if we want to make progress in this domain and act so exotic markets are better recognized by the Polish entrepreneurs. For example, the value of export to Africa in 2013 was worth 2 billion euro. At the same time, the export to Hungary was worth 4 billion euro alone. It needs to be mentioned that in Africa there are more than 50 countries, there live over billion people.Concluding, Polish exporters need support. They need help in facilitating them an international expansion. However, a preference should be given to those entrepreneurs who plan to export to more distant markets. This, in turn, assumes that money for grants will never be big enough for all willing to receive them. Hence, support programs must be based on the established project selection criteria that imply bold companies. The analysis of the operational programs co-financed by the EU funds showed that companies could profit from the export supporting instruments in the period between 2007-2015. They were provided, among others, the "Innovative Economy" program. The right instrument was named "Passport for Export". Similar tools could also be found in most regional programs. The companies could count on the grants co-financing, for example, participation in the international trade fairs, exhibitions or commercial missions. And these are fundamental instruments for having an access to new markets and for maintaining the existing contacts. The availability of such instruments should be very much appreciated.At the same time, an in-depth analysis of the project selection criteria showed, that – with few exceptions – there was no criterion that would favor companies thinking of further expansion and daring to enter some distant (exotic) markets. However, bearing in mind greater challenges, difficulties, political, legal and cultural differences, especially these entrepreneurs should count on support. It seems that this element was missing.Recognizing the need of the diversification of the Polish export, the thesis also includes a chapter devoted to exploring potential markets. The analysis was based on the World Trade Organization data, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The analyzed data included, inter alia: import volumes, conduction of business (easy of doing business index), customs formalities, population and demographic forecasts, and gross domestic product per capita. As a result, there has emerged a list of markets, which can be considered as a priority for the country and that the state could follow to set the eligible criteria for project selection. This list indicates, among others, such countries as: Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Chile, Israel, Canada, Qatar, Kazakhstan, or Vietnam and United Arab Emirates.