Program to seal nation's Eastern borders near completion

The EU has spent more than EUR 55 million so far which comes mainly from the PHARE fund to secure the Polish border. The majority of the money was spent on vehicles and IT as well as telecommunication equipment. Over the last two years, EUR 3 million were spent on purchasing uniforms and boots designed for extreme weather conditions from domestic plants. According to official announcements, there is a chance in February for launching the so-called Schengen fund, which will provide EUR 280 million for improving security in Poland. The country plans to spend this money on a special chopper, as well as constructing at least two deep-sea patrol boats and additional thermo-visual equipment. Last year, border guards employed 1,325 new officers, which totalled zł. 72 million, and this figure is likely to grow at similar pace until 2006. (Rzeczpospolita, pp. A1, B1) M.M.