There is little sign of an economic crisis at the Zlote Tarasy retail centre in Warsaw. Shoppers are out in force, the cafés are crowded and the stores seem busy. The Zara fashion outlet is running 20 per cent discounts on some ranges, but elsewhere in the complex the “sale” posters are conspicuous by their absence.

“It’s normal. Nothing out of the ordinary,” says Magda Kowalska, a student browsing in Zara. “I have read about the crisis, but it’s not affecting me.”