In addition to representatives of the MDFRP management, the meeting, which took place on 21 November, was also attended by Deputy Head of Unit for Poland at the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO) Simeon Shenev. The meeting was also attended by representatives of other ministries, the local governments, social partners, economic partners and representatives of NGOs and academia.

The implementation of the previous financial perspective was successful despite an extremely difficult period due to the COVID-19 pandemic among other things. This very difficult experience has shown the flexibility in investing European Funds, both in Poland and across the European Union,

said Minister for Development Funds and Regional Policy Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz.

The head of the MFiPR also emphasised that, under the national and regional programmes implemented in the 2014-2020 financial perspective, we invested in transport infrastructure (road and rail), innovation, entrepreneurship, environmental protection and energy, as well as in culture, education, employment, health care or tackling social exclusion.

Cohesion policy makes a difference to citizens' daily lives and the effects of investment can be seen all around us. Funds from the previous financial perspective were used to modernise and build, among other things, more than 2,000 km of railway lines, and 360 passenger carriages were purchased. Almost 2,000 km of motorways and motorways across the country have been built and upgraded, and more than 9,500 km of sewerage network has been constructed. In the area of research and development, projects worth nearly PLN 36 billion in total were implemented. More than 33,000 projects supporting the development of enterprises for more than PLN 111 billion were financed,

added Minister Pełczyńska-Nałęcz. 

Thanks to EU funding, which came from national and regional cohesion policy programmes, achievements of the 2014-2020 financial perspective included:

• 3,920 km of national, provincial, district and municipal roads constructed and modernised;
• 480 wastewater treatment plants built and modernised;
• approximately 1,098 electricity transmission networks constructed and upgraded; 
• 1.5 million unemployed people covered by employment support programmes;
• 145,600 new businesses set up by the unemployed;
• 650,000 people with disabilities supported.

Implementation of Programmes from the 2014-2020 Perspective 

By 17 November 2024, a total of 102,761 project funding agreements had been signed with beneficiaries. The total value of these investments amounted to PLN 595.4 billion, of which the share of EU funds was worth PLN 351 billion.

In the 2014-2020 financial perspective, we have implemented thousands of projects that have significantly influenced the dynamic development of our country and its individual regions. They have contributed to raising the level and comfort of citizens' daily lives. EU funds, which have been spent for specific investments, have made the Polish economy increasingly competitive on the European and global markets,

said Deputy Minister Konrad Wojnarowski.

The total value of expenditures incurred by beneficiaries, which were settled at national level, amounted to PLN 576.3 billion. This includes EU funding of PLN 348.4 billion, which is 99.4 per cent of the total budget planned in the 2014-2020 financial perspective.

Poland Compared to the European Union

Since the beginning of our presence in the European Union, Poland has been a leader among the Member States in terms of spending and certification of cohesion policy funds. In the 2014-2020 financial perspective, total net payments transferred to Poland under the cohesion policy amounted to €78.7 billion, or PLN 341.24 billion. As the country with the largest EU budget, Poland implemented 25 programmes and around 300 priorities during this period. 

Committee for the Partnership Agreement 2014-2020

The Partnership Agreement Committee is the main body supporting the Minister for Development Funds and Regional Policy in the process of using EU funds. The Committee is made up of representatives from government, local authorities and social and economic partners. The Committee coordinates the implementation of all programmes included in the Partnership Agreement and checks that cohesion policy funds are delivering the expected results.