2024-06-19 14:34 update: 2024-06-20, 15:02
Photo PAP/Marcin Obara
The European Commission (EC) intends to propose to the EU Council to open the excessive deficit procedures (EDP) against Poland and six other countries, the EC wrote in a press release on Wednesday.
"The Report under Article 126(3) is only the first step into opening the excessive deficit procedures. In light of this assessment, and after considering the opinion of the Economic and Financial Committee, the Commission intends to propose to the Council to open deficit-based excessive deficit procedures for these Member States in July 2024," the press release said.
The EDP procedure in the EU is triggered on the EC recommendation once the EU country's public debt-to-GDP ratio exceeds 60 percent or their deficit is above 3 percent of GDP.
The EC warranted opening an EDP for Belgium, France, Italy, Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovakia.
According to Poland's long-term budgetary plan, the general government deficit (according to the EU ESA2010 methodology) was 5.1 percent of GDP in 2023, representing a deterioration in the sector's result by 1.7 percentage points of GDP year-on-year (in 2022, the deficit was 3.4 percent of GDP).
A similar public finance sector deficit (according to the EU methodology), at 5.1 percent, is assumed in the budget for 2024, adopted in January.
It envisages state public debt at 42.5 percent of GDP and general government debt according to the EU definition at 54.2 percent of GDP.
Poland has already been subject to the EU EDP procedure once in the past, in July 2004. The procedure was closed in July 2008. (PAP)
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