In a wide-ranging interview with public broadcaster Polish Radio on Wednesday, Jarosław Kaczyński said that an ambitious "Polish New Deal" initiative unveiled by his ruling conservatives at the end of last week was designed to enable the country “to quickly reach the average level of development in the European Union.”
"I’m talking about the European average when it comes to GDP per capita in purchasing power parity terms,” Kaczyński elaborated, adding that Poland’s GDP per capita “currently stands at around 77 percent” of the EU average.
He also said: “That's not a small figure. We started out from a much lower level when we were joining the EU. However, it’s possible that by the end of the decade this proportion could increase to around 100 percent."
The "Polish New Deal" initiative unveiled by the government on Saturday aims to boost the economy after the pandemic, plough more money into public healthcare and education, and give parents extra social benefits.
Kaczyński, who leads Poland’s conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party and also serves as a deputy prime minister, told Polish Radio on Wednesday that the new extensive package of policies focused on “a strong economy as the basis for social assistance programmes."
Officials have previously said the "Polish New Deal" would follow up and expand on a number of flagship projects launched by the government in recent years.
(gs/pk)
Source: IAR, Polish Radio