Poland asks EC nations for urgent help on debt

Poland has asked European Community governments for half a billion dollars in urgent financing aid to help it service its debts and get new international credits. Diplomatic sources said an EC summit meeting next week probably would agree on a new aid package. But they emphasized that the timing had to be handled carefully ahead of the opening of the Polish Communist Party congress July 14.

Bankers were relieved Monday when Warsaw came up with $30 million to repay five-year floating-rate loan notes issued in 1976 by its Bank Handlowy which fell due for repayment June 10. A 10-day grace period expired last weekened.

A task force of Western banks is to meet in Paris today (June 24) to try to resolve diff erences over Poland's loan repayments due this year.