EU FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR MULTI-FUNCTIONAL DEYELOPMENT OF RURAL AREAS IN POLAND

The purpose of this paper is to present the possibilities of EU financial support to Polish agriculture and rural areas in the context of their multi-functional development. This direction of evolution should be stimulated by instruments restructuring and modernizing agriculture. These ideas are included in the strategie documents which define the adoptation of the EU cohesion policy and Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) in Poland. This refers to the National Development Plan (for two time periods: one document for 2004-2006 and the other one for 2007-2013), the Sector Operational Program “Restructuring and modernizing the food sector and rural development” and the Rural Development Plan. These plans are based on co-financing investments in agriculture and its environment, together with the realization of widely comprehended rural development programs — subsidies for farmers who implement appropriate measures. The efficiency of their implementation and conseąuently the possibilities of receiving huge EU financial transfers are conditional on the effective functioning of Polish institutions and administration