Small- and medium-sized business to receive equipment from EU funds

Owners of small- and medium-sized companies in Poland will soon be able to take advantage of investment subsidies for production equipment financed from European Union (EU) funds. Deputy President of the Polish Agency for Entrepreneurship Development (PARP) Andrzej Dziurdzik announced that a competition will be organized to choose regional financial institutions, and that the subsidies will be available after those institutions begin operation. At first only entrepreneurs from five voivodeshis - Lubelskie, Podlaskie, Slaskie, Podkarpackie and Warminsko-Mazurskie - can apply. Most probably beginning in the year 2002, business people nationwide will be able to take advantage of the support. The money from those subsidies can be spent for equipment purchase. PARP's report says that the percentage of GDP contributed by small- and medium-sized companies continues to increase. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B2; Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 19) A.D.