NBP governor predicts 5% economic growth in 2004

"The market economy consists of cycles, the period of a slowdown is followed by an upturn. What we need to do is decrease the deficit by way of reforming public expenditure," Balcerowicz told Parkiet. He reiterated that he opted for the strategy of entering the Euro zone in 2007, however, this strategy requires fast reform in public finances. Currently, NBP and the Finance Ministry is considering, "The extent to which the bank could prop up the government in buying out its foreign debts". "I would like to stress that the scale of the operation cannot be exaggerated since the volume of the currency reserves has a considerable significance to the economy," added Balcerowicz. (www.onet.pl) A.Z