Compromise could halt French assault on Poland's structural funds

France is demanding the removal of structural funds from countries, such as Poland, which use lower corporate income tax rates. The proposal has been met with criticism of Brussels but experts from the Polish Foreign Affairs Ministry believe there is still a chance of compromise. Spokesman for the Commission for Internal Markets and Fiscal Policy, Jonathan Todd, said that countries with lower economic development levels have the right to attract investors with lower CIT rates. A compromise may be reached if new EU members commit themselves to tax rates at the level of at least 12%, which is the level currently applied by Ireland. (Rzeczpospolita, pp. A1, B1) M.M.