WARSAW: The Polish government has adopted a preliminary draft budget for 2018, which expects the economy to grow 3.8 percent, with inflation at 2.3 percent and unemployment at 6.4 percent.
According to Prime Minister Beata Szydło, the budget is geared toward boosting the country’s development and ensures full financing for the government’s key social assistance projects. These include its 500-plus child benefit programme and its Home-plus low-cost housing programme.
Poland’s budget deficit will not exceed PLN 41.5 billion (EUR 9.75 billion, USD 11.5 billion) next year and the target for the general government deficit is 2.7 percent of GDP, Szydło told a press conference after a government meeting on Thursday.
She also said that the government’s work on the budget “has only just begun” and that the draft had been sent for public consultation.
Work on the budget will end when the parliament passes the budget and when it is signed into law by the president, Szydło added.
The government has until 30 September to come up with the final budget bill and send it to parliament for consideration, she noted.
