EU's Phare 2000 fund set to help SMEs develop in Silesia from August

The Silesian region is one of the five, along with the Podkarpackie, Podlaskie, Lubelskie and Warminsko-Mazurskie regions which will receive subvention for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) within the EU's Phare 2000 program. From August 19, Silesian entrepreneurs can apply for Phare 2000 subvention to the Silesian department of the Agricultural Market Agency (GARR) in Katowice. "The minimum amount available will be euro 5,000 and the maximum euro 50,000. The deadline for applications is October 18," announced GARR chairman Grzegorz Tobiszewski. Subventions can be used to finance the purchase of machinery, IT, technical advice, consulting and participation in trade-fairs. The Silesian region's 373,000 registered SMEs should receive a total of euro 6.46 million for such purposes, of which euro 4.85 million would be European money, the remaining euro 1.61 million coming from the government. (Puls Biznesu, p. 9) A.L.