Legal Eye: 18 million per day

According to my math this works out as a daily rate of just under R18 (zł.68) million, or if you prefer, an hourly rate of R750,000 (zł.2.84 million).

The funding came from a variety of EU sources, specifically the European Regional Development, Social and Agricultural Guidance Funds and the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (collectively referred to as structural funds) in addition to the Cohesion Fund, which provided funding for programs initiated prior to EU accession.

For the current six-year period ending in 2013, the amount of funding available to Poland on an annual basis is expected to increase by a factor of at least 30 percent.

Funding goals

Structural Funds are administered at the national or regional level, despite the fact that the funding originates from the EU.

The European Regional Development Fund, by far the largest of the Structural Funds, provides funding in the form of non-returnable grants, to both private and public entities, in order to redress the regional imbalances in the level of development and prosperity throughout the EU, and in particular to "strengthen competitiveness and innovation, create and safeguard sustainable jobs and to ensure sustainable development" (EC Regulation 1080/2006).

Projects eligible for funding run the gambit, from infrastructure improvement projects (water-treatment plants, bridges and roads) to job creation (primarily through direct aid to business) to supporting regional and local development. The latter - regional and local development - is intentionally broad in scope, as it is understood by EU and Polish officials to include almost all forms of development, ranging from the funding of local scientific and technical research centers to the promotion of foreign investment and tourism.

What costs are covered?

The percentage of funding provided by EU structural funds varies, but on average will cover 50 percent of a program's projected cost. The applicant or local government is expected to contribute the balance. In the case of job creation or training, however, EU funding may cover up to 100 percent of the projected cost.

One of the structural funds, the Agricultural Fund, which has an annual budget of R50 (zł.189) million, will cover up to 50 percent of the cost to promote and advertise EU agricultural products both inside and outside the EU, including the cost of travel to attend events and trade fairs.

Similarly, the European Regional Development Fund will also cover the cost for program participants to attend trade fairs to promote investment and tourism.

In exceptional circumstances, the Agricultural Fund will cover 100 percent of the cost to promote EU agricultural products outside the EU, and in particular the cost to participate in a foreign trade show.

In 2005, for instance, a group of Italian orange growers received more than R1.7 (zł.6.4) million from the Agricultural Fund to promote their oranges in the United States. German, Spanish, Portuguese and even Latvian farmers have taken similar advantage of this funding. Poland, despite having received more than R13 (zł.49) billion in EU grants during the same period, seems to have overlooked this program. Maybe next year?

Paul Fogo is a senior attorney with Miller, Canfield, W Babicki & Partners; fogo@pl.millercanfield.com