EC auditors open the way for Poland's farmers to start receiving funds

Poland's farmers are set to begin receiving euro 169 million a year of European Union (EU) aid funds, after auditors for the European Commission (EC) yesterday decided the Agency for Restructuring and Modernizing Agriculture (ARiMR) was ready to join the EU's Sapard program. The EC has agreed to make the first payment, equivalent to 49% of this year's amount, in June. It will be targeted at helping the country's food processing plants meet EU hygiene standards. In total, Poland is entitled to euro 750 million of EU funds under the Sapard program. The EC auditors agreed to recommend payment of the aid after conducting an evaluation of the ARiMR's computer systems and hardware, the qualifications and morale of its staff, the procedures for project evaluation, and the plans for distributing the money. In all cases the evaluation was highly satisfactory. (Rzeczpospolita, pp. A1, B1) A.D.