In response to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments and international institutions took steps to contain the harmful consequences on citizens’ lives and health, as well as the economy. In the short term, the goal was to limit the spread of the virus and the effects of the restrictions on the economy and, in the longer run, to prevent the appearance of new cases, facilitate the end of social restrictions, reboot the economy, and return to a path of sustainable growth and development.

This is an economic and legal exploration of the impact of the pandemic, in the Polish context, examining Polish society and the economy as well as the response of the Polish authorities to the pandemic. The choice of Poland as the subject of the research is justified by its specificity. On the one hand, Poland is a country undergoing systemic transformation with access to European and transatlantic institutions. On the other hand, in recent years, it has evolved towards a hybrid democracy and is currently diverging away from the EU project. The book presents Poland’s legal and institutional response to the pandemic, analysed through the prism of common European values and Poland’s international commitments. It signposts the financial solutions adopted by the EU in the aftermath of the outbreak to assess how they will be used in combatting the short and longer-term consequences of the pandemic in Poland.

The book is an introduction to original research, shaped by the novelty of the subject matter, and as such, will be essential reading for students and researchers of economics, law, and international relations.