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Polish gov’t vows more aid to virus-stricken economy  

21.04.2020 15:45
Poland’s government has vowed to inject more funds into the economy to help it weather the coronavirus crisis.
Polands Deputy Prime Minister and Development Minister Jadwiga Emilewicz is seen on a television screen as she briefs the media during a remote news conference in Warsaw on Tuesday.
Poland's Deputy Prime Minister and Development Minister Jadwiga Emilewicz is seen on a television screen as she briefs the media during a remote news conference in Warsaw on Tuesday.Photo: PAP/Rafał Guz

Deputy Prime Minister Jadwiga Emilewicz said on Tuesday the government was readying a fresh package of measures to protect jobs and “keep the pulse of the economy going” amid the disruption.

The planned new measures include a multimillion loan subsidy programme aiming to support businesspeople who are at risk of losing or have already lost their financial liquidity, Emilewicz said.

She added that the programme, expected to be coordinated by state-owned Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK), would be worth PLN 270 million (EUR 60 million, USD 65 million) this year alone.

Emilewicz, who also serves as Poland's development minister, was speaking at a joint news conference in Warsaw with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Labour Minister Marlena Maląg.

The latest announcement came after Emilewicz said at the end of last month that Poland’s authorities were ready to loosen the purse strings to offer relief to the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Polish president at the end of last month signed into effect a multibillion relief and stimulus package aiming to shore up the economy and shield the nation from the impact of an intensifying coronavirus outbreak.

President Andrzej Duda at the end of last week signed into law a measure to offer further support to the nation’s economy amid the Covid-19 lockdown.

(gs/pk)

Source: IAR, PAP