EC decision on accreditation paves way for initiation of Sapard fund

The European Commission (EC) has accepted the accreditation of the financing agency that will be responsible for the redistribution of agricultural aid f unds through the Sapard program in Poland, informed European Union (EU) Enla rgement Commissioner Guenter Verheugen. With this decision the last obstacle to starting the program has been removed and, beginning in July, Polish farm ers and rural companies will be able to ask the Agency for Restructuring and Modernization of Agriculture (ARiMR) for co-financing of rural development p rojects. The EU has set aside euro 1.6 billion to help Polish agriculture un til the end of next year. EU Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler will of ficially sign the ARiMR's accreditation in the coming days, once all the nec essary consultations have been finished. Brussels will then give ARiMR an ad vance of 49% of this year's allocation. The EU is in a hurry to get the prog ram started because Sapard has already been delayed by two and a half years. (Rzeczpospolita, June 8-9, p. B2) A.D.