FinMin : Poland's GDP can grow 3-4 pct with no growth in EU

Poland's GDP can grow by 3 to 4 percent in 2012 even if the economic growth in Western Europe stands at zero, Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski told the Newsweek weekly. "(...) In the long run, if the worst thing does not happen, that is if the euro zone does not collapse and the EU does not break up, Poland's economy can expand by 3 to 4 percent even if the GDP growth in Western Europe stands at zero,' Minister Rostowski said. According to Minister Rostowski the recent decisions taken by the EU summit in Brussels and the European Central Bank "are for the first time going in the right direction". "Today I am more optimistic about the general situation than three weeks ago," the minister stressed. Asked what could happen if bond yields rose from the current 5-6 percent to 8 percent in Poland, Rostowski said that the National Bank of Poland (NBP) could intervene short-term in the secondary market if a rise in yields of Polish Treasuries was caused either by panic or an external virus and not by bad public finance management.