Is the Hausner plan tough enough to meet the latest EC demands?

European Commission has started to demand financial discipline from the new EU members. Poland has been given four years to get its budget deficit to under 3% GDP. Currently the deficit is 4.1% GDP. Officials from Brussels have evaluated the programs of decreasing the budget deficits in each country. Jerzy Hausner's plan was said to be ambitious. However, the European Commission fears that the confusion on the political scene can negatively affect the implementation of the reforms. "It is very probable that we will meet the EU demands, although the Hausner plan may not be enough," said Ryszard Petru, an economist with bank BPH. "It is interesting that some "old" EU members, like France, Germany or Italy, do not meet all the criteria, but the problem is that Poland is too weak to force the Commission to make any concessions," he added. (Puls Biznesu, p. 7) A.F.