President of the National Bank of Poland, Adam Glapiński, awarded with a prestigious award

The distinction commemorates Alexandre Lámfalussy – one of the architects of European financial integration and co-creator of the European System of Central Banks. The award is granted by Magyar Nemzeti Bank to people who have made particular contributions to the development of modern monetary policy and the stability of the financial sector. The “Lámfalussy Award” is one of the most prestigious distinctions in the central banking and economics community.

During the ceremony, the role of prof. Adam Glapiński in strengthening the resilience of the Polish economy and effectively conducting monetary policy in the period of global economic and geopolitical challenges.

I accept this award as a symbol of close and long-term cooperation between the National Bank of Poland and Magyar Nemzeti Bank, which has a long tradition. The basis of this cooperation is the historic friendship between our nations. I would like to emphasize that I see this award as an expression of recognition for the effectiveness of NBP policy and Poland’s excellent economic performance in recent years – said prof. Adam Glapiński, receiving the distinction.

During the speech accompanying the “Lámfalussy Award” ceremony, Prof. Adam Glapiński recalled that during his work at the central bank, Poland faced a number of crises – from the European debt crisis, through the pandemic, to the global increase in inflation. He emphasized that despite these challenges, it was possible to restore price stability and reduce inflation from close to 20% to the NBP inflation target, while maintaining economic growth.

In his speech, the President of NBP indicated three key conclusions regarding effective monetary policy: the need to ensure the independence of the central bank, the importance of maintaining one’s own currency and autonomous monetary policy, and the need for a flexible approach to responding to economic shocks. He noted that thanks to its own currency, Poland could respond to crises faster and more effectively than euro zone countries.

Finally, he emphasized that monetary policy cannot be based solely on rigid rules, because in conditions of global turbulence it requires experience, flexibility and responsible decisions.

The “Lámfalussy Award” ceremony took place on May 17, 2026 in Budapest. The gala preceded the annual international conference Lámfalussy Lecture Conference organized by Magyar Nemzeti Bank.

The “Lámfalussy Award” was established in 2013. Its winners so far have been Christine Lagarde – President of the European Central Bank (2024), Robert Holzmann – President of the Austrian National Bank (2023), Yi Gang – President of the People’s Bank of China (2022), Boris Vujčić – President of the Croatian National Bank (2021), Peter Praet (2020) and Yves Mersch (2019) – former members of the Management Board of the European Central Bank, Zhou Xiaochuan – former President of the People’s Bank of China (2018), Jacques de Larosière – former managing director of the International Monetary Fund (2017), as well as the Bank for International Settlements (2016) and Benoît Coeuré – member of the Management Board of the European Central Bank (2015). The first winner of the distinction in 2014 was Ewald Nowotny, then president of the Austrian National Bank.