Baltic Economy Congress 2025 – Security on the Baltic Sea, the development of Western Pomerania and offshore investments 

The Baltic Economy Congress 2025, held at the Polish Theatre in Szczecin, was one of the most important economic events of the year in the Baltic Sea region. 

Former prime ministers, government representatives, leaders of the offshore sector, economists, local government officials, and entrepreneurs from Western Pomerania all appeared on the same stage. The discussions covered both global economic tensions and very local challenges faced by businesses in our region. 

Our law firm was also part of this distinguished group. 

During the accompanying Western Pomerania Entrepreneur of the Year 2025 Gala, we were honoured with nominations in two competition categories. 

Advocate Patryk Zbroja also co-created an expert panel on offshore wind energy investments, emphasising the necessity of ensuring proper legal and economic safeguards for such projects. 

Baltic Economy Congress – the economy of the Baltic Sea in the spotlight 

This year’s congress was organised in the spirit of the principle: “think globally, act locally”. 

The speeches and discussion panels focused on topics such as the economy of the Baltic Sea, national security, infrastructure investments, the energy sector, and the impact of global trends on entrepreneurs operating in Szczecin and the wider region. 

It was repeatedly stressed that offshore is one of the most important drivers of development in Western Pomerania. Concrete figures were presented – each gigawatt of capacity installed in the Baltic means billions of euros in investments and thousands of jobs, also in related sectors: shipbuilding, logistics, port operations and professional services. 

Law as the foundation of offshore investments 

Advocate Patryk Zbroja participated in a panel dedicated to offshore energy and Poland’s position in the Baltic supply chain. 

In his remarks, he emphasised that Poland is facing a historic opportunity to harness energy from the Baltic Sea. He also noted that this opportunity will not materialise on its own — it requires consciously built legal foundations and carefully planned economic security for the investments. 

The panel highlighted that offshore investments must be assessed from three closely linked perspectives: 

• first – the legal perspective, meaning regulatory stability, coherent procedures, and well-constructed contracts,
• second – the economic perspective, including risk allocation, financing mechanisms, and the long-term viability of projects,
• third – the operational perspective, concerning the actual feasibility of carrying out investments using Polish resources: ports, shipyards, shipowners and local suppliers. 

Offshore as a historic opportunity for the region 

During the congress debates, it was repeatedly emphasised that Poland has joined the group of the world’s largest economies, and that Western Pomerania has a real chance to strengthen its position as one of the most important offshore hubs on the Baltic Sea. 

Offshore wind energy was presented not only as part of the energy sector, but as a new pillar of the maritime economy, capable of driving the development of numerous industries for years to come — from shipbuilding to logistics to specialised legal and financial advisory services. 

From a legal practice perspective, this means that neglecting regulatory, contractual and economic security issues could lead to the opposite of what is intended — instead of stable growth, we would face an increased risk of disputes, delays and investment uncertainty. 

Economic takeaways from the congress 

In the part devoted to the overall condition of the Polish economy, the discussion quickly moved to public debt, the stability of state finances and Poland’s relationship with the eurozone. 

Former prime ministers and invited economists pointed out that Poland’s advancement into the group of the world’s twenty largest economies by nominal GDP is a major success. At the same time, it creates new investment obligations. 

It was noted that an economy of this scale should absorb investments of around PLN 200 billion annually, which immediately raised the question: where to find capital for development on such a scale? 

A natural extension of this discussion was the topic of infrastructure and energy investments, which are meant to be a real response to macroeconomic challenges. It was in this context that the role of Western Pomerania and projects related to offshore wind energy came to the forefront.  

Two nominations in the Western Pomerania Entrepreneur of the Year 2025 Competition 

Our firm’s presence at the Baltic Economy Congress also had a networking and experience-sharing dimension. 

During the Western Pomerania Entrepreneur of the Year 2025 Gala, Zbroja Adwokaci was nominated in the category “Enterprise Employing 11 to 50 People (Small Enterprise)”. 

Additionally, advocate Patryk Zbroja received an individual nomination in the “Western Pomerania Manager of the Year” category. 

We see these distinctions as confirmation that our long-standing specialisation in the maritime economy, offshore wind and seafarers’ taxation, combined with our consistent presence in key economic debates in the region, translates into the trust of both businesses and institutional stakeholders. 

Key takeaways from the Baltic Economy Congress for legal practice 

From the perspective of Zbroja Adwokaci, this year’s congress made it even clearer that: 

• the offshore sector in Poland is entering a phase of dynamic growth,
• these projects require high-level specialisation – technical, financial, and legal,
• the lawyer’s role in maritime investments today goes far beyond simply “preparing documents”. 

Effective advisory in this area requires understanding the logic of the entire project: from the planning phase, through financing, to implementation and operation. A modern lawyer working in the maritime and offshore sectors must be able to navigate both legal regulations and the operational realities of ports, shipyards, shipowners and offshore wind developers.