Public debt will remain under control – deputy assistant finance minister

The budget this year will not allow for the level of public debt-to-GDP ratio to exceed 55 percent, said Deputy Minister of Finance Hanna Majszczyk in the Senate debate in Warsaw on Wednesday. She specified that at the end of 2017, she expected it to be just over 51 percent. She admitted that although the budget deficit (of PLN 59.3 million) is high, it would be the maximum possible deficit. She stressed that the budget for 2017 allows for the implementation of fundamental reforms of the government of a social nature, and the assumed effects associated with the reduction of the retirement age. “The draft budget for 2017 meets the requirements that are imposed on Poland as a member of the EU – not to exceed the public-sector deficit of 3 percent of GDP. The planned deficit for 2017 is 2.9 percent. The planned budget [embraces] investment growth and […] ensures stable public finances of the state,” Majszczyk said.