EU funds used "ineffectively": Sejm Commission

Members of the Sejm's European Commission issued an opinion yesterday that Poland is using financial aid from the European Union ineffectively. According to a sub-commission head, Boguslaw Liberadzki, by the end of 2001 the Union had granted to Poland a total of euro 2.53 billion from the PHARE fund, from which contracts were signed for euro 2.13 billion, or 84% of appropriated funds, and euro 1.81 billion, or 72% of total funds, was paid out. In the period leading up to 1997, the rate of allocated funds was never lower than 97%, and the amount of funds paid out was just slightly lower. The situation worsened in the years 1998 to 2000, when from the granted euro 980 million, only euro 610 million was contracted, while euro 315 million was actually paid out. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B2) M.T.