Poland may postpone until 2013 plans to reduce its general government deficit to the three percent required by the European Union, according to a government source. The previous target had been set for 2012.

“The alternative scenario from the convergence program is now more probable, that is, that we will be able to go down with the deficit [to 3 percent or below] only in 2013 and not in 2012 as we assumed earlier,” Reuters quoted a PAP government source as saying.

On Friday the ruling Civic Platform government will unveil its new four-year financial plan, which will contain details on how it plans to stymie debt and deficit growth.

“Within the time horizon of the plan, we do not assume that public debt will top 55 percent of GDP but it will near these levels and the risk of breaching this safety level exists,” the source told PAP.

“This is why the plan will include a mechanism for VAT to automatically rise by one percentage point when the statistics office says the 55 percent debt level was breached.”