Hausner - economic recovery and jobs first, euro second

Economy and Labor Minister Jerzy Hausner said yesterday that policies to drive economic recovery and fight unemployment should take priority over cutting the budget deficit to enable early adoption of the euro. Hausner, who earlier floated a proposal for deep cuts in corporate tax rates to boost domestic demand and create jobs, said that his measures could come at the cost of a temporary increase in the budget deficit level. Such proposals are at odds with the policy guidelines proposed by Finance Minister Grzegorz Kołodko who seeks to tighten budget deficits to meet the euro-entry criteria in 2006. Hausner, however, claims that "It would be a mistake to conduct an economic policy whose only target would be adoption of the euro. Poland should be targeting euro entry... but that should be a result of strengthening fundamentals." But Hausner said he would support Kołodko's drive to make the budget more flexible by scrapping some non-discretionary costs and making social spending more effective. (Reuters) K.Ż.