Debt reaches warning level

19th March 2010

Poland’s public debt at the end of 2009 was more than 50 percent of GDP, higher than previous government estimates, according to an article in Rzeczpospolita. If true, the government would be obligated by the constitution to cut the deficit for 2010 below last year’s level.

According to the paper’s report, government spending last year pushed the debt up to 51.8 percent of GDP according to the EU’s calculation method and to 51.3 percent using Poland’s GUS methodology. Both numbers are higher than the 50 percent “warning level” that constitutionally requires the current deficit to be cut from the previous year’s level. 

The government has repeatedly said the debt would ...