Poland passes 2015 budget with deficit under 3 percent
PR dla Zagranicy
John Beauchamp
18.12.2014 11:56
Poland’s parliament passed the budget for 2015 with planned deficit of PLN 46.8 billion (EUR 11.035 billion) or less than three percent of GDP on Wednesday evening.
Photo: PAP/Radek Pietruszka
The budget won 325 votes with 205 against and three abstentions. The government coalition of the Civic Platform (PO) and Polish People’s Party (PSL) voted for, while the opposition MPs were against.
The budget envisages revenues of PLN 297.253 billion (EUR 70.096 billion) and spending of PLN 343.333 billion (EUR 80.962 billion).
The document is based on assumptions of 3.4 percent GDP growth and year-average inflation of 1.2 percent. The budget also envisages unemployment of 11.8 percent at end-2015, down from 12.0 percent at the end of this year.
MPs approved several amendments to the government’s draft budget, including a reallocation of funds for foster families to support for adoption and a budget for the establishment of the Polish Space Agency.
The most controversial amendment moves PLN 16 million (EUR 3.77 million) from the culture budget to support the Roman Catholic church of Divine Providence in Warsaw’s Wilanow district. (an)