EU subsidies frozen over Environment Ministry failure

"If we do not manage to release these funds soon, we will have to look for new investments," said Deputy Minister of Regional Development Jerzy Kwieciñski,. If Poland does not manage to release and spend the funds from the EU financial perspective for 2004-2006, it may lose them. "For the time being the EU funds for two road investments are frozen," said General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA) spokesman £ukasz Dybkowski. "So far we have identified five potential special protection areas which are in collision with the planned road investments," explained Dybkowski. The construction of roads on special protection areas would be in violation of EU law, as in the case of the planned bypass through the Rospuda valley. (Parkiet, p. 12) E.B.