Poland's budget deficit at the end of 2011 likely came in at zł.25 billion – zł.15 billion less than the amount estimated in the government's budget plan for last year.

The Finance Ministry made the estimate of zł.25 billion based on data for the January-November period of last year.

The public finance deficit for 2011, meanwhile, is estimated at 5.6 percent of GDP.

Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski explained in a report detailing the finance situation for 2011 that the crisis in the euro zone may have prevented the government's initiatives from successfully lowering the deficit below 3 percent of GDP.

He adds that in order to reach this goal, his ministry is planning, among other things, to raise the pension premium, introduce a silver and copper tax and extract higher dividends from state owned companies.

Poland A.M.