Bureaucracy may need to expand by as much as 20% to cope with EU

The European Integration Committee (KIE) yesterday accepted a report on the capacity of the Polish civil service to successfully operate within the European Union (EU) when Poland joins it, The report envisaged that the number of civil servants will need to increase by between 15% to 20%. "This is only an initial estimation", warned European Affairs Minister Danuta Hubner. She went on to say: "Possibilities of personnel transfers between ministries and office will be examined, as the European integration issue has became a key priority for the government". Funds for integration linked purposes will allow the creation of 300 new positions this year. The total number employment in public administration, including all public institutions, is currently around 100,000. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B2), M.T.