The biggest challenge in 2025

The most serious challenge was the persistent uncertainty in economic decision‑making, which prompted companies to postpone decisions and lengthened key processes. This was driven by the overall economic situation, new regulations, as well as ongoing old and new conflicts.

As a result, organisations increasingly built short‑term strategies, which required consultants and agencies to adopt agile approaches, define solutions quickly and respond to new challenges and communication contexts. Those entities whose leaders were able to make bold decisions benefited the most – for example, by expanding beyond the local market, especially in projects in logistics, energy and the automotive industry.

What the sector was facing

In EU institutions, especially in Brussels and the European Parliament, the presence of Polish companies and associations remained disproportionately low. While Germany and France have been strengthening their presence for years (with more than 400 active public affairs and lobbying organisations), Poland has fewer than 15. At the same time, Ukraine, the US and China are becoming increasingly active players in the regulatory “game”, which is visible in the growing activity of their representations in the public affairs ecosystem. A positive sign is that several Poles hold important positions in global business, responsible for Public Affairs or Government Relations.

Positive developments

In 2025, two major events dedicated to public affairs were held – one organised by CEC Group and the other by Puls Biznesu. They became meeting points for both people learning the profession and experienced practitioners and decision‑makers in this field. The Public Affairs Club at PSPR has also entered a new phase, with case studies being presented, networking strengthened and peer‑to‑peer exchange of experience enhanced.

The growing importance of advocacy and public affairs in digital channels shows that digital competences are becoming critical, even though many organisations still fail to invest adequately in this area or to keep pace with the speed of change. When key economic and political processes now follow a two‑week or monthly cycle, a proper understanding of timing becomes one of the most important allies.

Conclusions and outlook for 2026

The priority should remain a “digital‑first” approach, but only when grounded in a clearly defined strategy and sound understanding of the environment. In parallel, it is worth consistently building high‑quality networking at key events in the country and the region, while ensuring that each of them is carefully prepared – both in terms of meaningful participation and creative event design. A significant issue is the excessive commissioning of expert panels, which too rarely deliver genuinely new knowledge or valuable insights.

The 2026 agenda should also include strengthening Poland’s resilience as a key player in Central Europe. This includes, among other things:

• strengthening local communication structures

• developing the ability to respond to hybrid incidents

• further supporting the cyber‑resilience of the state and business (the NIS2 directive is bringing many positive changes)

• helping individuals exposed to fake news, identity theft and online extortion

• developing pro‑investment projects in the dual‑use area (defence and civilian markets), e.g. building satellite systems, data analytics and the development of local AI

• energy transition – understood not only in technological, but also in social terms.

Author:

Łukasz Zając, public affairs and PR consultant, coordinator of the Public Affairs Club at PSPR for the last 3 years.