Three days, more than 6,500 participants, hundreds of panel discussions, politicians, businesspeople, local government leaders and experts – the Karpacz Economic Forum 2026 was an impressive event by its sheer scale alone. Yet what was even more interesting on the ground was seeing how the economic and political figures of one of Europe’s most dynamically developing countries view their own situation. And also how differently the very same economic figures can be interpreted.
All this took place not in Warsaw, Kraków or another major Polish city, but in Karpacz, a mountain resort near the Czech border.
A small town that becomes one of Poland’s centres for three days
At first glance, the choice of venue may seem surprising. Karpacz is hardly a conventional conference city, yet the Hotel Gołębiewski and the surrounding infrastructure have enough capacity to host an event attended by several thousand people without major disruption.
According to the official summary by Forum Ekonomiczne, more than 6,500 participants attended the 35th Economic Forum, held between 8 and 10 September, with more than 500 debates, panels and other events taking place. The programme covered eight major thematic areas, ranging from the economy and international politics to digitalisation, artificial intelligence and healthcare.
The true scale of the event could best be appreciated on site. Conference rooms were spread across several floors of the hotel and in pavilions erected in front of the building, while gala events and banquets were held on a separate floor. According to the organisers’ official information, even the logistics centre itself was located 3.5 kilometres from the main conference venue.
According to an on-site report by wroclaw.pl, around 500 media representatives, 1,200 local government officials and 900 foreign delegates arrived in Karpacz. Although a significant part of the programme was held in Polish and focused primarily on Polish issues, interpretation was available for the more important panels, making much of the conference accessible to international participants as well.
Karpacz Economic Forum 2026: a strong economy facing serious dilemmas
One of the most interesting lessons of the three days for me was just how differently the same economic data can be interpreted.
Poland is recording particularly strong growth by European standards. The European Commission’s May forecast projected GDP growth of 3.5 percent for 2026, while unemployment remains exceptionally low. At the same time, the picture is far from problem-free: the Commission expected a budget deficit of 6.5 percent and a further increase in public debt.
The OECD’s June forecast was somewhat more cautious, projecting growth of 3 percent in 2026 and specifically highlighting risks related to energy prices, global demand and the geopolitical situation in the region.
In Karpacz, therefore, the same economic performance was presented in one discussion as proof of a successful convergence model, and in another as the starting point for examining the challenges facing a country entering a new stage of development.
Perhaps this was precisely what made the forum so interesting: within just a few conference rooms of one another, it was possible to hear entirely different conclusions drawn from the same economic reality.
Both government and opposition figures turned out in Karpacz
Numerous prominent figures from Polish political life also attended the forum. The organisers highlighted the participation of, among others, Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Deputy Prime Minister and Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski, Development Minister Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, Science Minister Marcin Kulasek, Deputy Speaker of the Sejm Krzysztof Bosak and former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, while numerous state secretaries were also present.
The presence of right-wing and opposition politicians was particularly conspicuous. Morawiecki received a standing ovation, while Krzysztof Bosak’s appearance also prompted a strong reaction from the audience. According to the report, former Prime Minister Beata Szydło and former Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak also spoke at the event. Andrzej Duda, Poland’s president between 2015 and 2025, likewise appeared at several events.
The gala dinners were among the forum’s most spectacular occasions. This was where awards recognising outstanding achievements in the economy, business and public life were presented. Perhaps the most important of these, the 2026 Person of the Year award, went to Infrastructure Minister Dariusz Klimczak.
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Morawiecki: the V4 must continue even when countries are led by different political camps
Mateusz Morawiecki’s appearance was particularly interesting to me because I also had the opportunity to put a question directly to the former Polish prime minister at the forum.
I asked whether, if he were to return to government following Poland’s 2027 election, he would continue Visegrád Group cooperation even if Hungary’s prime minister were Péter Magyar rather than Viktor Orbán.
Morawiecki gave an unequivocal yes.
According to the former Polish prime minister, the V4 must be maintained at all costs, and it must not be allowed to fall apart or lose its significance again simply because the countries concerned are governed by political forces with differing views.
The essence of his answer was that regional cooperation must survive party-political differences. Poland, Hungary, Czechia and Slovakia share numerous economic, infrastructural and geopolitical interests that remain regardless of which political camp happens to be in power.
The message is particularly noteworthy because the V4 has been on hold in recent years precisely because of foreign-policy and political differences among its member states.
Polish–Hungarian rail links: Budapest to Warsaw took ten hours 20 years ago – and still does today
A much more critical assessment of the state of Polish–Hungarian relations was heard during another panel.
Balázs Szabó, president of the Polish Nationality Self-Government of Dunakeszi and the Association of Modern Polish Thought, said that in his view the previous Hungarian government had not done enough over its 16 years in office to develop Polish–Hungarian relations in practical terms, with transport providing one of the clearest examples.
Szabó pointed out that around 20 years ago it took roughly ten hours to travel by train from Budapest to Warsaw, and that journey times have not decreased substantially since then.
He considered this particularly problematic given that Hungary undertook a major international railway investment in another direction: the Budapest–Belgrade railway line was upgraded, while no project of comparable scale was launched towards Poland.
According to Szabó, a modern Budapest–Warsaw connection would go far beyond tourism.
A north–south railway connection could also be of strategic importance for logistics, freight transport and closer links between the countries of the region. While new north–south logistics corridors and high-speed rail connections are being developed across Europe, Hungary is not yet a major player in these networks.
Szabó said, however, that some change may already be perceptible. He noted that Dávid Vitézy, transport and investment minister in Hungary’s new government, has already spoken about developing rail connections towards Poland. This does not yet amount to a concrete investment project, but he believes it is an important indication that the issue could once again make its way onto Hungary’s transport policy agenda.
Vitézy is indeed preparing a large-scale railway development programme: according to a 11 September report by 24.hu, the minister spoke about a comprehensive HUF 3.5 trillion – approximately EUR 9.6 billion – rail and transport development framework.
More than fifty Hungarians attended the forum
The composition of the participants was also interesting from a Hungarian perspective. More than fifty people from Hungary registered for the event, several of whom also spoke in panel discussions.
In previous years, the Hungarian delegation regularly included ministers from the Orbán government as well as political and public figures close to the former governing party. This year, several Fidesz politicians or participants linked to the previous period of government could again be seen at the event, while high-level representation from the new government led by Péter Magyar was much less noticeable.
Among those present was former Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly László Kövér, who had originally been scheduled for two events but ultimately took part in one panel discussion. Péter Márki-Zay, mayor of Hódmezővásárhely, also travelled to Karpacz and attended several events. Their encounter even made it into the Hungarian press: 24.hu reported that, according to Márki-Zay, László Kövér declined to shake his outstretched hand.
The composition of the Hungarian participants was also interesting in light of the fundamental change in Hungary’s political situation a few months earlier. The personal and institutional network built up over recent years was still clearly visible at the forum, while relations between Hungary’s new government and the Karpacz Economic Forum are evidently still at the beginning of a new era.
I was invited to one of Central Europe’s largest economic forums, as the owner of DNH MEDIA GROUP Ltd., by the Warsaw Enterprise Institute Foundation to attend both the event and the press trip that followed.
Karpacz Economic Forum: much more than just an economic conference
By the end of the Karpacz Economic Forum 2026, this was perhaps my strongest impression: although it is called an economic forum, for three days it effectively becomes a Central European meeting place where economics, politics, geopolitics, infrastructure, technology and business are almost inseparable.
Conversations in the corridors and over dinner were at least as important as those taking place on stage. And across the hundreds of panels, it was sometimes possible to hear completely different answers to the same question depending on whether one was listening to a minister, an opposition politician, a businessperson or an economist.
By many indicators, Poland has every reason to look to the coming years with optimism. At the same time, Karpacz also showed that rapid economic growth does not in itself eliminate dilemmas. On the contrary: the greater the country’s economic and political weight becomes, the more important the question of how it chooses to use that strength.
From a Hungarian perspective, one of the most important lessons may have been something that emerged in two very different discussions: Polish–Hungarian relations cannot be built solely on the political friendship of whichever parties happen to be in government. Whether the issue is the V4 or a modern railway connecting Budapest and Warsaw, long-term cooperation requires relationships and infrastructure capable of surviving changes of government.
As we wrote after the election, Polish–Hungarian friendship could gain new momentum. Magyar and Tusk discussed exactly this in Warsaw.
