The inauguration of the programme is, on the one hand, the culmination of many months of work on the programme documents and, on the other hand, the beginning of the implementation of the programme, which will result in many interesting projects, 

Minister Grzegorz Puda started.

The programme takes into account the new challenges and priorities facing the entire Europe resulting from the European Green Deal. The European Funds for Infrastructure, Climate, Environment programme will focus on achieving selected Cohesion Policy objectives for a greener, better connected and more social Europe.

It is a great honour and pleasure to participate in the launch of the new European Funds for Infrastructure, Climate, Environment  programme for 2021-2027. It is the largest investment programme in the European Union and will allocate more than EUR 24 billion from the EU budget for environmental and climate protection, biodiversity conservation, clean energy and transport, improving the quality of health care and protecting cultural heritage in Poland. The programme will provide the opportunity to create new attractive jobs, develop entrepreneurship and raise the living standard of Polish citizens, thus providing a significant boost to Poland's socio-economic development. Above all, however, this programme is a further expression of solidarity and cooperation between the countries of the European Union to strengthen peace in Europe, protect its values and ensure the well-being of its peoples,

said Normunds Popens, Acting Director-General of the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy.

The programme aims to improve the conditions for sustainable development of the country. This will be achieved by building modern technical and social infrastructure. FEnIKS is the largest programme implemented for the EU funds in Poland and in the European Union. We will invest the funds in environmental, energy and transport projects, but we will also support culture and health care. The programme will therefore cover many areas. In the implementation of the FEnIKS programme, we will draw on previous experience from the implementation of the Infrastructure and Environment Programme 2014-2020.

FEnIKS support will cover 5 key areas - energy, environment, transport, health and culture. Transport and energy will receive the major part of funding. Investment supported by the programme will be implemented, among others, by enterprises, local governments, national road and railway managers, emergency services, non-governmental organisations, health care institutions or cultural institutions,

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

The implementation of the FEnIKS programme will allow to increase the energy efficiency of housing, public buildings and businesses. Plans include expanding the share of green energy from renewable sources in final energy consumption. Investment in energy infrastructure is expected to improve the quality and security of electricity networks and the development of smart gas grids.

FEnIKS also focuses on the development of transport, the availability of public transport, investment in seaports, inland waterways and intermodal carriages.

The European Funds for Infrastructure, Climate, Environment programme will support the infrastructural modernisation process of the country and enable the implementation of the necessary investment. We will focus on the construction of new and modernisation of existing railway lines and the network of expressways and national roads, including city bypasses,

the head of the MFiPR noted.

Ambitious goals for the expansion of Polish infrastructure require bold financial decisions. For nearly eight years, we have been implementing investments that change the image of Polish roads and railways. This is thanks to funding from various sources: national, including both state and local government, and EU sources. In order to be able to continue to implement key projects for Poland's development, sources of funding are needed. Certainly in the new EU perspective we will implement many investment projects with the share of the EU funding,

said the Minister of Infrastructure, Andrzej Adamczyk.

Planned investments in the environment sector should contribute to greater resilience to climate change and the protection of biodiversity. There will be investments in improvement of drinking water as well as wastewater and municipal waste management.

The FEnIKS programme is the largest national programme in the entire European Union in terms of funding and number of support areas. It should be emphasised that it is the hard work of many social, economic, scientific and administrative circles that has enabled us to negotiate more than EUR 24 billion, including as much as EUR 9 billion for energy and the environment. With this funding from the new programme, we will be able to implement economically and environmentally important investment. These funds will support, among other things, the improvement of energy efficiency in residential buildings, the reduction of greenhouse gases, the development of district heating networks and energy storage, as well as climate change adaptation and the prevention of risks associated with natural disasters and catastrophes. We therefore face new challenges and priorities that will contribute to faster development of a modern and competitive economy,

said the Deputy Minister for Climate and Environment Małgorzata Golińska.

In the financial perspective 2021-2027, investment of European funds in the health care system remains one of priorities. Investment is planned in key areas of the health care system that will increase the quality of health services and make them more accessible and effective. The area requiring particular support from the FEniKS funds is psychiatry for children and adolescents as well as adults. All levels of care in accordance with the psychiatry reform will be addressed.

Under the FEnIKS programme, the Ministry of Health will be responsible for implementing health care infrastructure measures. The Ministry has approximately EUR 815 million at its disposal (EU contribution EUR 650 million, national funds EUR 165 million). We will use this money to strengthen Primary Health Care, improve the infrastructure for Outpatient Specialised Care in supra-regional hospitals, support emergency medical services and the reform of psychiatry. Our main objective is to ensure that patients have equal access to services in the framework of PHC, AOS and psychiatric care,

said the Deputy Minister of Health, Piotr Bromber.

In the cultural sector, the funds will mainly be used to increase the attractiveness of cultural infrastructure and the tourist appeal of historical heritage sites.

Green and digital transformation criteria will also be implemented in both programme areas. We are planning measures to protect monuments of global and national significance - both movable and immovable. At the same time, we will develop cultural institutions and support their adaptation to new cultural and social functions,

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

The event was attended by Andrzej Adamczyk - Minister of Infrastructure, Małgorzata Golińska - Secretary of State in the Ministry of Climate and Environment, Marcin Horała - Secretary of State in the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy, Government Plenipotentiary for the Central Communication Port for the Republic of Poland, Piotr Bromber - Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Health, Normunds Popens - Acting Director General of the Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy, Marzenna Guz-Vetter - Acting Director of the European Commission Representation in Warsaw, Elabetta Falcetti - Regional Director for Central Europe and the Baltic Countries of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Robert Bartold - Director General of the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy, Jarosław Orliński - Director of the Department of Infrastructural Programmes in the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy.

The participants at the FEnIKS kick-off conference also included representatives of the European Commission, ministries and the Centre for EU Transport Projects, PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe S.A, the Railway Transport Authority, the State Fire Service,  General Directorate of National Roads and Motorways, National Archaeological Museum and beneficiaries of the Infrastructure and Environment Programme 2014-2020 and potential beneficiaries of the European Funds for Infrastructure, Climate, Environment 2021-2027 programme, as well as members of the FEnIKS Monitoring Committee and social and economic partners.

During the inauguration ceremony, participants had the opportunity to learn about the effects of the implementation of the programme preceding the European Funds for Infrastructure, Climate, Environment 2021-2027, namely, the Infrastructure and Environment Programme 2014-2020. Security-related projects were presented at the premises of the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy. We were accompanied by Rogatek - the hero of the Railway ABC campaign, the State Fire Service presenting equipment purchased thanks to funding from OP IE, and PKP PLK S.A. presenting its “Safe level crossing” social campaign.  Photographs and artefacts were presented at the exhibition “OP IE about the past”.