IACS to be further delayed

Poland said yesterday that there will be further delays in launching a farm sector monitoring system needed for the country's EU entry in 2004, a move certain to provoke an angry reaction from the bloc's executive body. The European Commission has repeatedly criticized Poland for delays in setting up the so-called Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS), saying they could pose a threat to the country's ability to receive large farm subsidies. The agency building the IACS, which will handle billions of euros a year in EU farm aid, promised the system would be operational by the time Poland joins the bloc, despite an expected three-month delay, until October, in launching it. The delay would be caused by last-minute changes in the expected method of awarding direct subsidies to farmers, which was only agreed between the European Commission and the government on Tuesday. (Reuters) K.Z.