Piechota says mines must be closed or else the sector will go bankrupt

"It is impossible to decrease the surplus of coal without closing down mines," Deputy Labor and Economy Minister Jacek Piechota said yesterday. The government has accepted a draft program to restructure the mines for 2003-2006. It should be passed by the Sejm at the end of November and take effect at the beginning of 2004. Under the program, zł. 18 billion of the mining sector's zł. 23.8 billion liabilities will be written-off. Thanks to this, the sector will be rescued from bankruptcy after Poland's joins the EU. Piechota also said that he has asked Treasury Minister Piotr Czyżewski to increase the capital of Kompania Węglowa by zł. 400 million. In his opinion, in next year's budget the Finance Ministry intends to earmark over zł. 1.3 billion for the restructuring of the sector. Part of the finance will come from the World Bank. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B1) A.Z.