The ESA center will be built in Warsaw. Success of the capital, failure of the regions

The new center of the European Space Agency will be built in Warsaw. The facility will deal with, among other things, space security, national resilience, satellite data analysis and responding to crisis situations.

This is an important decision for Poland. It means a greater presence of our country in the European space sector, a chance for new projects and orders for technology companies.

Warsaw therefore has reasons to be satisfied.

The capital had strong cards

The choice of Warsaw is hardly a surprise. The capital is home to research institutes, technical universities, and space and defense companies. There are ministries, the army, embassies and the most important offices responsible for state security.

In addition, there are good air connections and a large job market for foreign specialists.

For now, it is not known in which part of Warsaw the ESA center will be built. The government and the agency have announced the choice of the city, but have not yet indicated a specific address, building or district. Before the decision was made, several locations in Warsaw and its metropolitan area were analyzed. The entities offering their facilities included the National Center for Nuclear Research in Świerk near Warsaw, but it has not been confirmed that this is where the new facility will start operating.

Warsaw was a safe candidate. She had a background and was able to show it.

The regions lost not only to Warsaw

Other large cities also applied for the center, including Katowice, Kraków, Wrocław, Łódź, Poznań and Gdańsk.

Each of them had its advantages. Silesia could combine investment with industrial transformation. Kraków and Wrocław have strong universities and new technology sectors. Gdańsk, Poznań and Łódź also have staff, companies and infrastructure.

Despite this, they failed to convince decision-makers.

This is not just a success for Warsaw. It is also a failure of politicians from other regions.

They didn’t build strong enough support. They did not convey the message that an important state or international institution does not have to move to the capital again. They also did not obtain a clear guarantee that some of the laboratories, tasks or investments would be located outside Warsaw.

In the fight for such projects, conferences, letters of support and photos of local government officials are not enough. Months of lobbying, cooperation across divisions and joint pressure of MPs, senators, voivodeship authorities, universities and entrepreneurs are needed. The effect shows that this was missing or that the actions turned out to be ineffective.

Another important institution comes to the capital

The ESA decision is part of a larger problem.

Warsaw already brings together central administration, headquarters of large companies, financial institutions, media and many of the best-paid jobs. Each subsequent important outpost further strengthens its advantage. Behind an institution come people, money, companies, contracts and investments.

In this way, the economy develops more and more around one city. Of course, not every institution needs to be forced out of the capital. Warsaw often has the best facilities. However, the state should ask not only where it is easiest to locate the investment, but also where it will bring the greatest change.

In Silesia, the ESA center could help in the transition from mining and heavy industry to robotics, automation and new technologies. In Łódź, it could strengthen the process of building a new economic identity of the city. It could create another national technology center in other metropolises.

Warsaw needs such an impulse the least.

Where is Poland’s even development?

Politicians of all parties eagerly talk about the country’s sustainable development. They assure that Poland does not end with Warsaw and that regions should receive more investments.

However, when making specific decisions, these slogans often lose out to centralization. The most important offices, institutions and new projects go to the capital because adequate facilities already exist there. And as more investments go there, Warsaw’s advantage grows even more.

A closed circle is created. Regions have less chance because they are weaker. They remain weaker because the most important investments continue to bypass them in favor of the capital.