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EBRD supports Poland’s dairy sector in ground-breaking joint initiative with EU
A €5 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) signed today on the occasion of the EBRD’s Annual Meeting in Riga will allow the Bank Slaski (BSK) to provide financing for the modernisation of Poland’s important dairy industry. The loan is the first to be provided under the Polish Dairy Facility, a €32 million facility developed by the EBRD jointly with the European Commission. Other Polish banks are expected to participate in the programme.
"Raising the quality of dairy products to western European standards is the main challenge facing the dairy industry in Poland," said Commissioner Pedro Solbes Mira, the EBRD Governor for the European Community. "As part of a joint effort with the EBRD to help modernise the industry, the European Commission will be providing a grant of €8 million through the EU PHARE programme managed under the authority of my colleague Gunter Verheugen, Commissioner in charge of Enlargement. Financial assistance to producers willing to upgrade their production facilities will help Poland achieve the requirements of EU accession."
"Substantial reform of agriculture is required from Poland in the context of EU accession," said Steven Kaempfer, Vice President of the EBRD. "As part of a joint effort with the European Commission, the EBRD will make available €24 million in loans to financial intermediaries in Poland. Half of the funds available under the Polish Dairy Facility will be used to improve the production and collection of milk from Polish farms, whilst the other half will be used to support the modernisation of dairies. Through supporting economic transition in the dairy industry, the EBRD will be supporting as well the implementation of the Accession Partnership between the European Union and Poland."
The Bank Slaski is in the process of identifying potential clients in the dairy industry, who will be responsible for preparing and implementing a qua
BSK was formed in 1989 when the National Bank of Poland was divided into nine regional branches. In 1994 Internationale Nederlanden Groep (ING) became a shareholder and has since acquired a majority stake. The bank is based in Katowice and employs about 7,000 staff. In 1998, BSK was ranked among the top ten of Polish banks in terms of total equity and total assets. ING is one of the largest foreign investors in Poland’s financial sector.
The EBRD was established in 1991 following the collapse of communism, to aid the transition from centrally planned to market economies in central and eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. The EBRD is owned by 60 shareholders: 58 countries, the European Investment Bank and the European Community, and operates with €20 billion in authorised capital.
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