And he told deputies his Law and Justice (PiS) government wanted to ensure Poland's economic growth rate would outpace the eurozone by at least 2-3 percentage points in the coming years.

Multinational corporations had "avoided paying taxes for years" and the tax havens "must be closed", Mateusz Morawiecki told deputies, as he set out his priorities for his second term.

"The European Union loses 150 billion euros each year in CIT (corporate taxes) and doesn't see this elephant in the room," said Morawiecki.

The "biggest and richest" global firms ought to pay taxes where they earn revenue, said the former banker.

"The other elephant is 150 billion euros in lost VAT (sales tax)," he added, without explaining in detail where the money was being lost.

Poland and other newer EU members are looking for ways to help make up the loss of Britain's contribution after Brexit, but they oppose cuts planned by the European Commission.

Morawiecki also vowed to continue the controversial PiS judicial reforms that have put Poland on a collision course with the European Commission, which insists they endanger the rule of law.

In a setback for those reforms, Europe's top court on Tuesday ruled that Polish judges must decide on the validity of a disciplinary chamber imposed on them by the government.

- Harsh words for NATO critics -

Morawiecki again condemned leaders "questioning" NATO's collective defence, insisting they "weaken our security, threaten the EU and NATO".

That appeared to be a reference to comments made by French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this month, although this time he did not name him, as he did in an interview last week with the Financial Times.

Macron said he believed NATO was undergoing "brain death," lamenting a lack of coordination between Europe and the United States under the Trump administration, in an interview with The Economist magazine.

On the domestic front, Morawiecki vowed to continue popular social welfare measures such as a child benefit. Spending plans include new benefits for families with three or more children and an extra pension payment for retirees.

After first taking office in late 2015, the PiS introduced sweeping changes insisting they were necessary to tackle corruption and overhaul a judicial system still haunted by the communist era.

Ratings agency Moody's forecasts that Poland's economy will grow by 4.4 percent this year, before expanding by 3.7 percent in 2020.

According to forecasts that would be well ahead of the eurozone, where growth is expected to hover at around one percent over the same period.