Poland deficit to reach 3% in 2013, says PM

(WARSAW) - Poland will rein in its public deficit to 3.0 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2013, Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Friday in Warsaw.

"It shouldn't be difficult to bring the public deficit to 3.0 percent by 2013 without too many painful measures," Tusk said quoted by TVP Polish television.

"It seems it would be difficult to bring the deficit down to 3.0 percent in 2012. But a level in the range of 3.5 percent, 3.7 percent to 3.8 percent should be acceptable to the (European) Commission," he said.

On Wednesday, Poland's Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski said he had sent a letter to EU economic affairs commissioner Olli Rehn outlining measures Poland will take to limit its public deficit which reached 7.9 percent in 2010, according to official estimate.

In mid-February, Rehn urged Poland to rein in the deficit to within the EU limit of 3.0 percent of GDP by 2012.

"I can now say that the Polish government ... can meet the obligation of eliminating the excessive deficit in 2012," Rostowski said Wednesday.

Passed in December, Poland's 2011 budget forecasts a public deficit of 6.5 percent.

EU rules require members to limit their public deficits -- the gap between state spending and revenue -- to 3.0 percent of gross domestic product.

While they can have leeway in tough economic times, members must show they are striving to narrow the gap, or face an "excessive deficit procedure" policed by the bloc's executive European Commission.

A country of 38 million, Poland saw its economy expand by 3.8 percent in 2010.

It is expected to record 4.1 percent economic growth in 2011, according to a recent European Commission estimate.