Investments and challenges - European Economic Congress
25.04.2022
- Investments made with European funds strengthen the competitiveness of the Polish economy in Europe and in the world. The scale and value of the projects are of vital importance to every citizen and to the development of the region and the country as a whole. When selecting projects, priority is given to investments of strategic importance for the state, Minister Grzegorz Puda said during the first day of the 14th European Economic Congress.
The debate during the "Investment and Challenges" session focused on the topic of raising the economy's resilience to crises and triggering investment activity in the private and public sectors. The business sector leads in the Polish economy in investment spending, accounting for just over 55% of total capital expenditures. The public sector is responsible for 25% of the investment, and the household sector for the remaining 20%.
Minister Grzegorz Puda noted that the factor that has effectively stimulated investment spending in the Polish economy for more than 20 years is access to EU funds. Based on research conducted by the MDFRP, it is estimated that the level of investment in Poland in the scenario without the inflow of EU funds would be about a quarter lower than it is today.
Investments should raise the level of prosperity and competitiveness of the economy. The pool of domestic investment resources will grow as the economy grows and Poles get richer,
Grzegorz Puda stressed.
EU funds continue to be an important source of financing for investment projects in Poland. In total, in the financial perspective 2021-2027 under the Multiannual Financial Framework and the Next Generation EU, the allocation for Poland will be about PLN 770 billion, the vast majority of which will be for financing expenses of an investment nature.
The situation in Ukraine also demonstrates another important dimension of investment for the development of the country, which is investment in security in the broadest sense. This includes both physical security and other aspects: protecting the health and lives of citizens, food security, energy security and digital security.
In the case of the Multiannual Financial Framework, we are now in the final stages of negotiating the Partnership Agreement for 2021-2027 with the European Commission. This is a strategic document in which the European Commission and Poland agree on how EU funds from the cohesion policy will be invested.
The 14th European Economic Congress in Katowice is the largest debate around the challenges for the European economy in Poland.