Fin Min: Government pledges won't bust the budget

Minister Mateusz Szczurek (second row, left) in parliament, Tuesday: photo - PAP/Radek Pietruszka

In her parliamentary address on Wednesday, Poland's new Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz described a number of new government undertakings, generating new costs. She also promised extended spending in a number of areas, such as defense and pro-family policy.

“These expenses have been consulted with the finance minister, they were calculated very carefully,” she said later that day. Preliminary estimates put the extra costs for 2016 at 3.5 billion zloty (837 million euro).

Speaking to journalists on Wednesday evening the finance minister said that the planned extended spending was in line with existing limits on the public finance deficit.

“The prime minister presented priorities for the new government. One of them is public finance stability,” Szczurek said. “All new expenses fit in the deficit limits that we have set.”

Poland's law on public finances set a limit on spending, which depends on economic growth and inflation rates in a given year. In the finance minister's opinion, the new goals will not surpass that limit.

Szczurek stressed that Poland is cutting spending in other areas, for example in 2016 it will not buy new F-16 aircraft.

Each year, the country spends some 10 billion zloty (2.4 billion euro) less on its public debt-related costs, the minister also said. (kw)

Source: PAP, IAR