Poland Employment, Entrepreneurship & Human Capital Dev. Policy Program DPL

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The Second Programmatic Development Policy Loan Program (PL2) in Poland has the following objectives: (i) to support structural reforms that will ensure fiscal consolidation over the medium term; (ii) to protect priority investment programs and the up-front fiscal costs of structural reforms critical to meeting Poland's goals of convergence with the rest of the European Union (EU); and (iii) to mitigate the social cost of the economic crisis. In the months since the first loan in the program was disbursed, the external economic environment has changed dramatically, causing growth in Poland to slow sharply. To better manage the uncertainty that the world economic crisis has introduced to Poland's outlook and fiscal targets, while pushing ahead with reform of public financial management and improvements in the business environment, the Government is now focusing on the part of the program specifically targeting the labor market, education, health and social protection. The PL2 continues to support reforms initiated with the first loan and expands the focus to include structural improvements in, and the maintenance of, critical programs in the social sectors.