Poland to top growth in Europe in 2010: PM
(WARSAW) - Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Friday that Poland, which joined the European Union in 2004, would top the 27-member EU economic growth rankings in 2010.
He said that Poland would be the only only European state to show growth in 2009.
"This year as well as next year we will remain the European leader. This isn't a seasonal phenomenon," Tusk said as his government marked two years since taking office in a coalition arrangement between his liberal Civic Platform (PO) party and junior partner, the PSL farmers' party.
According to a Polish finance ministry forecast Poland's gross domestic product (GDP) is set to expand by 1.0 percent in 2009 and 1.2 percent next year.
The 30-nation Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is even more optimistic, forecasting that Poland will score 1.4 percent GDP growth in 2009 and 2.5 percent in 2010.
Having officially emerged from recession this summer, the European Union as a whole is expected to show economic contraction of 4.0 percent overall in 2009, but grow by 0.7 percent in 2010 and 1.5 percent in 2011.
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