EU aid to Poland could be higher than national budget deficit

This means that over this period, Poland could be a net beneficiary of zł.60 billion annually in aid, which is higher than the Polish budget deficit at present. According to the estimates of Market Economy Research Institute (IBnGR), Poland will have a surplus in settlements with the EU of EUR 1.4 billion in 2004, EUR 2.6 billion in 2005 and almost EUR 3 billion in the following year. "From an economical point of view, Poland would have no problem with absorbing larger amounts of money," said President's advisor Witold Orłowski. However, whether Poland could use the money depends on the capabilities of the self-governments, which already have problems with preparing their own input into the EU funded projects. (Rzeczpospolita, pp. A1, B2) M.M.