If one sentence were to sum up what we have been doing at the MFiPR over the past year, it would be: we have been taking care of Poland's sustainable development. It was certainly a year of investment, driven by budgetary and EU funds. We have also developed public-private partnerships and improved accessibility. And all this under unfavourable circumstances, that is, during a pandemic

- says Tadeusz Kościński, Minister for Finance, Funds and Regional Policy.

Poland is one of the leaders in investing EU funds. By 15 November, we had already invested PLN 303.6 billion, i.e. more than 89.2% of the European Union money allocated to Poland for 2014-2020. Local governments, entrepreneurs, government institutions and non-governmental organisations are implementing over 75.3 thousand investments with the use of EU co-financing for a total of PLN 499.7 billion.

What has the money been allocated to? Among other things, on infrastructure projects - construction of roads: A2 section from Warsaw to Minsk Mazowiecki, A1 section between the Częstochowa Północ and Częstochowa Blachownia nodes, S5 expressway between Bydgoszcz and Mielno and between Poznań and Radomice, construction of S17 section from the end of the Kołbiel ring road to the beginning of the Garwolin ring road. With the support of EU funds, the bypasses - Dąbrowa Tarnowska, Bolków, and Góra Kalwaria - were built.  With the help of EU funds, we are changing the face of Polish railway stations, including those in smaller towns. Travellers, including those with disabilities, can already use the stations in Nidzica or Białystok.

We have also invested in innovation, entrepreneurship, environmental protection, energy, health, science, culture, competence development, improving the situation on the labour market and many other areas.

It is worth remembering that EU funds always go hand in hand with national money. To every zloty from the European Union, the state budget, budgets of local governments and private entities add an average of 65 groszy

- stresses Minister Kościński.

According to the budget agreement, Poland will receive almost EUR 160 billion for the years 2021-2027 (including EUR 125 billion as subsidies and over EUR 34 billion as low-interest loans). EUR 66.4 billion from this pool will be allocated to cohesion policy. The task of the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy is now to translate this money into specific programmes and investments. We are preparing the Partnership Agreement for 2021-2027, which is the most important document which will show how we want to use EU funds and individual operational programmes. We will submit the draft Partnership Agreement for negotiations with the European Commission at the beginning of 2021.

Under the Reconstruction Fund, Poland will have over EUR 57 billion at its disposal. The basis for using the money from the Reconstruction Fund will be the National Recovery Plan (NRP), which must be prepared by each country. The NRP will identify reforms and investments strengthening growth potential and economic resilience.

The Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy coordinates the preparation of the National Recovery Plan. The first stage of work is over. We have collected investment proposals from ministries, local governments and socio-economic partners. We have received over 1200 projects, concerning many areas, e.g. energy, environmental protection, health, innovation and entrepreneurship, transport or territorial cohesion. Then we analysed them, identified their coherence with the NRP objectives and developed criteria for project evaluation. We verified which can be financed from the NRP and which can be financed from other sources if the relevant conditions are met. The next step will be to create a final list of bundles of projects for which it will be possible to apply for support from NRP. We are also working on the document itself, which will set out the development objectives of our country and the reforms we want to implement with the funds from the NRP.  An informal dialogue with the European Commission on the content of the NRP has also been ongoing since November this year.

Poland can receive as much as EUR 3.5 billion from the Fair Transition Fund. This money is to go to the regions of Poland which will be most affected by consequences of the changes towards a climate-neutral economy. The Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy will support regions preparing territorial plans for a fair transition. This will allow voivodship governments to develop effective plans more efficiently. Negotiations on the legal framework for equitable transformation funds should be concluded this year. Territorial Fair Transformation Plans and the programme dedicated to the Fair Transformation Fund are to be negotiated with the European Commission next year.

We also received an additional EUR 2 billion under the ReactEU instrument. This is an instrument which is intended to provide rapid support in connection with the corona crisis. This money will be invested within the current perspective. We will divide them into existing programmes. We want to allocate it, among others, to support business, health, energy and digitisation and clean air.

In view of the need for a rapid and effective response to the socio-economic consequences of the pandemic, the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy has drawn up a specialist act on legal solutions for the implementation of European Funds in times of pandemics. The Fund Specialist Act was a strengthening of the government's Anti-Crisis Shield and had two objectives. Firstly, it gave greater flexibility to companies, organisations or institutions implementing projects subsidised by European Funds. Secondly, it introduced the possibility of shifting available funds to combat the effects of the epidemic.

Along with the preparation of the fund specialist act, the MFiPR issued five regulations concerning provision of “anti-covid” public aid in programmes financed from EU funds.

Due to Poland's efforts, it was possible to amend EU law so that part of the EU funds could be transferred to fight against the pandemic. At the time, Poland prepared the so-called “antiviral cocktail”, i.e. proposals for changes in EU law which would relax the principles of investing EU funds.

To date, we have allocated around PLN 14.5 billion from EU funds to the fight against the pandemic and its economic consequences. These include wage subsidies (PLN 2 billion), which have saved half a million jobs, funding of working capital, which is expenditure related to the current activities of small and medium-sized enterprises (over PLN 2 billion), and technological bonuses for companies which invest in innovation during the pandemic (PLN 350 million). The money was also invested in computers for students under the Remote School and Remote School plus programmes, broadband loans for telecommunication entrepreneurs (PLN 400 million) and medical equipment and personal protective equipment that went to hospitals throughout Poland (PLN 948 million).

We have prepared and widely consulted the assumptions for updating the National Urban Policy (NUP). The NUP sets out directions for the development of cities which are to be places friendly to residents and attractive for entrepreneurs. It is a document which defines the planned actions of the government administration concerning urban policy. The update of the National Urban Policy is to adapt it to the latest development priorities in Poland and international trends in urban development and will change the perspective of its operation from 2023 to 2030.

We are preparing to organise the World Urban Forum to be held in Katowice in 2022. This is the most important and largest conference on the creation and implementation of urban policies in the world, which is organised by UN-Habitat, the UN Agenda for Urbanisation and Urban Settlements. In February, representatives of the Ministry took part in the 10th edition of the event, which took place in Abu Dhabi. It was an excellent opportunity to promote Katowice on the international arena and encourage the participants of the event to visit the capital of Silesia in two years' time.

In July it was two years since the government adopted the Accessibility Plus Programme, the implementation of which is coordinated by the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy. Already 199 organisations, companies and institutions have taken up the challenge and participate in the Accessibility Partnership. Over PLN 8 billion is the cost of ongoing investments that will improve accessibility. These measures will remove architectural barriers and ensure accessibility in schools, universities, clinics, hospitals, offices, multi-family buildings, railway stations and public spaces in cities. Product and social innovations are emerging which help to overcome barriers. The Accessibility Fund co-finances the improvement of accessibility of multi-family buildings. The Accessibility Act finally gives the right and introduces an obligation to ensure accessibility. It enables people with special needs to be included in an active life.

The government has allocated about PLN 2.3 billion from the state budget for the implementation of the Bridges for Regions Programme. These are crossings which will be created not only on the Vistula, but also on the Oder, the Bug, the Noteć, the Warta or smaller rivers such as the Soła and the Dunajec. To date, funding has been announced to prepare documentation for 22 new crossings. The programme is a response to the needs of communities and local authorities which, due to the high cost of building bridges, have not been able to finance this type of investment themselves.

So far, we have given local governments opinions on a positive recommendation for financing the construction of bridges in localities: Stalowa Wola, Porąbka, Jarosław and Sanok and crossings between the village of Granne in the Siemiatycze poviat and the village of Krzemień Wieś in the Sokołów poviat and on the Oder River, where the bridge will connect Łubowice and Ciechowice, as well as between Antoniówka Świerżowska and Świerże Górne. A new bridge will also be built on the Oder between Krapkowice and Gogolin.

We are implementing the Programme for Silesia, in which we currently have PLN 62 billion to develop the Śląskie Voivodship. Over PLN 58 billion already works in the economy, of which over PLN 22 billion has been contracted. The programme of open nature, and further initiatives are constantly being sought that are in line with its objectives. Currently, there are 116 initiatives.

We are coordinating the implementation of the Package for medium-sized cities. It is intended to equalise development opportunities for all areas, especially those with the greatest social and economic problems. As part of the national operational programmes, we have allocated around PLN 3 billion to medium-sized cities.

In cooperation with central institutions, the local government of the Podkarpackie Voivodship, the Bieszczady poviats and municipalities and socio-economic partners, we are implementing the Bieszczady Programme. Its aim is to support the development of the Bieszczady Mountains by combining national and local forces and resources. The amounts of investments implemented and planned in the area of the Bieszczady Mountains is about PLN 1 billion.

The year of MFiPR is also a good climate for PPP - the announcement of a tender to select a private partner to take care of the construction of the External Port of Gdynia - the largest investment planned for implementation under the PPP formula in Poland and one of the largest in the world, effective use of the PPP formula in the waste management sector, energy efficiency, trained local government officials, and preparation of new projects to be implemented in the near future.