"The Report under Article 126(3) is merely the first step towards opening the excessive deficit procedures," the EU's executive Commission said in a statement.
"Following this assessment, and after considering the opinion of the Economic and Financial Committee, the Commission aims to propose to the Council the initiation of deficit-based excessive deficit procedures for these Member States in July 2024," it added.
The excessive deficit procedure in the EU is triggered by the European Commission's recommendation when a country's public debt-to-GDP ratio exceeds 60 percent or its deficit surpasses 3 percent of GDP.
The EU executive said it was recommending the launch of excessive deficit procedures against Poland, Belgium, France, Italy, Hungary, Malta and Slovakia.
Poland's general government deficit was 5.1 percent of GDP in 2023, marking a 1.7 percentage point increase from 2022, when the deficit was 3.4 percent of GDP, according to EU methodology, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The budget for 2024, adopted in January, projects an identical deficit, at 5.1 percent of GDP, according to EU methodology.
Poland's financial plan for this year also anticipates state public debt at 42.5 percent of GDP, with the general government debt, as defined by the EU, at 54.2 percent of GDP.
Poland was previously under the EU's EDP procedure from 2004 to 2008 and from 2009 to 2015.
(mp/gs)
Source: PAP