The negotiations of the Partnership Agreement between the European Commission and the Polish government officially ended on 30 June 2022. The decision on the Partnership Agreement was handed out today.

Negotiations with the European Commission brought Poland not only financial benefits, but also benefits regarding specific provisions, which we particularly cared about and which were eventually included in the Partnership Agreement. We will remain the largest beneficiary of cohesion policy among all EU Member States. We were also able to extend the possibility of funding from the Just Transformation Fund to two additional voivodeships - Łódzkie and Małopolskie. In contrast, the program for Eastern Poland, which was originally scheduled to be extinguished, will not only be continued in the new financial perspective, but will also expand its reach to include part of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship. Ordinary citizens will benefit from it,

said Grzegorz Puda, the Minister of Development Funds and Regional Policy.

Poland is the leader among all 27 Member States in investing and implementing European funds. This is confirmed by regular audits conducted by the European Court of Auditors.

- I am also convinced that all these actions and investments, which will be implemented in the next decade as a part of the EU's cohesion policy, will contribute to the well-being of Polish society and mitigate the negative effects of recent years and months caused primarily by the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, rising prices of energy resources or the rapidly changing global economic situation,

Minister Grzegorz Puda stressed.

Billions of euro for cohesion policy

The Polish government has negotiated the largest - of all EU Member States - budget for the implementation of cohesion policy for 2021-2027, which can be used until 2029. The total amount that, based on the Partnership Agreement, we will be able to allocate for the implementation of projects across Poland is EUR 76 billion. This translates into PLN 348 billion.

The Polish budget for the Partnership Agreement consists of five EU funds, which will finance individual national, regional and cross-border programs and other support mechanisms. These include:

• European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) - EUR 47.4 billion
• European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) - EUR 12.9 billion
• Cohesion Fund (CF) - EUR 11.3 billion
• Just Transformation Fund (JTF) - EUR 3.8 billion
• European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) - EUR 0.5 billion

Equally important, the money allocated to Poland will have to be spent based on the six Cohesion Policy Objectives:

1. a smarter Europe - EUR 12.9 billion
2. a more environmentally friendly, low-carbon Europe - EUR 21.9 billion
3. a better connected Europe - EUR 15.7 billion
4. a smarter Europe - EUR 16.6 billion
5. Europe closer to citizens - EUR 2.4 billion
6. just transformation - EUR 3.7 billion.

What is the Partnership Agreement

The Partnership Agreement, which was prepared by the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy in cooperation with other ministries, is the most important document that defines cooperation between the European Union and Poland. This is a comprehensive strategy agreed with the European Commission for the use of European funds in the current financial perspective for 2021-2027. It represents the implementation of national documents such as the Responsible Development Strategy and - resulting from it - sectoral strategies. It assumes the continuation of existing national and regional programs.

Abundance of programs and support instruments

The 2021-2027 Partnership Agreement will be implemented based on specific forms of support for individuals, companies and local government units. It assumes the continuation of the implementation of existing national programs, sixteen regional programs, cross-border and transnational cooperation programs.

Eight new national programs are currently at the detailed arrangements stage:

• European Funds for Infrastructure, Climate and Environment (EFICE) - EUR 24 billion
• European Funds for a Modern Economy (EFME) - EUR 8 billion
• European Funds for Digital Development (EFDD) - EUR 2 billion
• European Funds for Eastern Poland (EFEP) - EUR 2.6 billion
• European Funds for Digital Development (EFDD) - EUR 4 billion
• Technical Assistance for European Funds (TAEF) - EUR 550 million
• European Funds for Fisheries (EFF) - EUR 512 million
• European Funds for Food Aid (EFFA) - EUR 525 million.

The money fixed in the Partnership Agreement will go to entities that intend to implement their projects also with the support of one of the sixteen Regional Programs.

As in 2014-2020, in the new financial perspective for 2021-2027, about 60% of cohesion policy funds will go to programs that are implemented at the national level. The remaining 40% will go to regional programs, managed by the marshals of voivodeships.

It will also be possible to take advantage of project funding from one of the three Territorial Instruments, i.e.:

• Community-led Local Development (CLLD);
• Integrated Territorial Investments (ITI);
• Other Territorial Instrument (OTI).

Their goal is to strengthen cooperation and partnerships of local governments that implement joint development activities on the basis of territorial strategies. They fit in with the goals set at the regional, national and European levels.

For whom, when and where

Support from individual financial instruments will be available to apply for by:

• Individuals,
• Private companies,
• Local government units.

We anticipate that the issuance of decisions on the launch of individual programs that are covered by the Partnership Agreement will take place by the end of 2022. Successively, as part of the approval of subsequent programs, competitions will also be launched, and the first payments to entities that receive funding for their projects will follow. We plan for this to happen in early 2023.

The scale of possible funding will also depend on the voivodeship, on the territory of which the project will be implemented. Less developed regions representing the dominant majority of Poland's territory, will be able to count on funding of up to 85% of the implemented project. This applies to all voivodeships in our country, with the exception of Dolnośląskie and Wielkopolskie, where support can reach a maximum of 70%. The lowest level of funding was provided to the Warsaw Capital Region - 50%.

Negotiation process

On 30 November 2021, the draft Partnership Agreement was approved by the Council of Ministers. Two weeks later, on 15 December 2021, it was officially submitted to the European Commission. Subsequently, formal negotiations between the Polish government and the European Commission were launched at a meeting held on 25 January 2022 in Warsaw.

After receiving formal comments, the process of agreeing on compromise provisions in the Partnership Agreement began. It was possible to negotiate the most important issues that have been discrepancies between the Polish side and the European Commission so far - i.e. transfers between funds, the geographic scope of the Just Transformation Fund, as well as matters concerning the health area and horizontal rules.

On 2 June 2022 the Partnership Agreement for 2021-2027 was submitted to the European Commission for review. On 30 June 2022 Poland and the European Commission have agreed on the content of the document that will govern the implementation of cohesion policy in our country in the EU financial perspective for 2021-2027.

Benefits for citizens and entrepreneurs

The MDFRP coordinates the investment of EU funds in Poland, including the European Social Fund Plus, which supports employment, education, equalization of opportunities in the regions and health care in Poland. The implementation of the Partnership Agreement will significantly increase access to:

• new jobs,
• health care, particularly in peripheral areas.

It will also be possible to count on:

• support for the development of innovative enterprises and start-ups,
• activities related to adaptation of cities to climate change,
• development of transportation infrastructure (including the development of low-emission public transport in cities, as well as inter-regional road and rail networks),
• support for entrepreneurship and R&D projects aimed at low-carbon economy.