Poland Approves 2008 Budget Draft

Poland's conservative government approved a 2008 draft budget Tuesday, which includes taking steps to trim the deficit to meet EU requirements, the finance minister said.

The spending plan foresees a deficit of 28.6 billion zlotys ($10.6 billion; 7.5 billion euros) and spending of 310.4 billion zlotys ($115 billion; 82 billion euros). Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski's Cabinet approved the plan, Finance Minister Zyta Gilowska said after a weekly government session.

The planned deficit is 1.4 billion zlotys ($51 million; 37 million euros) lower than the 30 billion zlotys ($11 billion; 7.8 billion euros) planned for this year.

The proposed budget still has to pass the nation's parliament, which will take up the issue following Oct. 21 elections. It will also need approval from President Lech Kaczynski, the premier's twin brother.

The draft pegs state income from tax and European Union funds at 281.8 billion zlotys ($104 billion, 74 billion euros), economic growth at 5.5 percent and inflation at 2.3 percent.

Unemployment is predicted to drop to 9.9 percent, compared with 12 percent at the end of August.

Poland is taking steps to curb the deficit below 3 percent of gross domestic product to meet EU requirements for the adoption of the euro, sometime in the next decade.

Source: forbes.com