PM adds more detail to Polish New Deal

Poland's prime minister has presented 10 “key” points of the government’s Polish New Deal plan aimed at reviving the national economy after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The plan, which envisages major investment in public infrastructure along with overhauls of the tax and healthcare systems, was made public last month but Mateusz Morawiecki added more details during a presentation on Wednesday.

Morawiecki said the plan will tackle "10 key areas of change," and will be introduced over the next 100 days, adding that it will allow Poles to fulfil their own "American dream."

Critics of the plan have said it will be too expensive and place a considerable tax burden on Poland’s middle class and small businesses.

Among the points listed by the prime minister is an increase in the tax-free allowance to PLN 30,000 (EUR 6,700), tax-free retirement pensions of up to PLN 2,500 (EUR 560), an increase in health expenditure to 7 percent of GDP, an additional PLN 12,000 (EUR 2,700) bonus for second children, and a broad investment programme.

Morawiecki said the new deal was designed to bring Polish living standards to the European average, eliminate social inequality, and thus create better living conditions for all.

"There are three significant things about the Polish New Deal: it is comprehensive, very well-weighed, and will serve all of society. The aim... is to achieve European living standards," he said.

More details about the plan will be presented over the next 100 days, the prime minister added.