Regionaal beleid Polen 2007-2013 vormt grootste regionale investering van de EU ooit (en)

Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Hübner today announced the biggest Community investment ever made, an Operational Programme worth €27.9 billion for Poland. The programme, entitled 'Environment and Infrastructure', will develop transport, environment and social infrastructure (higher education, health care) in the whole of Poland over the next seven years.

Commissioner Hübner welcomed the Commission's adoption of this programme on 7 December : "Due to the size and the scope of the programme, it will be one of flagship programmes for 2007-2013 cohesion policy. This adoption is just the first step in a long process that I hope will lead to successful results. Now the Polish authorities have to focus now on how to improve selection and implementation of projects, at all levels."

Development difficulties in Poland are to a great extent caused by either the lack of infrastructure or its poor condition. This programme treats basic infrastructure (transport,energy, environment)and social infrastructure in an integrated way. Cohesion Fund investment is worth € 22.18 billion and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) will contribute € 5.74 billion. Poland will complement the EU investment with € 9.65 billion.

High expectations

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  Modernisation or construction of motorways, expressways and railway lines: 636 km of motorways and over 2219 km of expressways will be constructed, 1566 km of railway lines will be modernised and eight main airports will be expanded. In addition to railway the programme will also support other means of transport alternative to roads (public transport in towns, multimodal, sea transport or inland waterways for merchandise).
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  Environment: building or modernisation of 318 waste-water treatment plants and 44 waste-management plants. 9 000 km of sewerage network will be constructed. The programme will also assist firms in implementing environmental norms.
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  Energy: investment in the energy sector will promote renewable energy sources (690 MW of additional capacity in energy plants using renewable energy sources) and ensure security of supply in the energy sector (for instance, through the construction of 1000 km of gas transfer pipelines and support for strategic cross-border electricity connections).
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  Social infrastructure: develop and modernise 120 education institutions and 160 healthcare centres.
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  Cultural heritage: support the protection or restoration of cultural monuments included in the UNESCO World Heritage list or recognised as historical monuments. Projects could, for instance, include the construction of the European Solidarity Centre in Gdansk, the extension of the national museum in Warsaw, and the construction of a museum of modern art, also in Warsaw.

Notes for editors

In total, Poland has presented 21 operational programmes to the Commission to implement cohesion policy 2007-2013:

One programme is related to the European Social Fund (ESF) and was launched on 28 September. The 20 others will be funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) or the Cohesion Fund. There are five national programmes and 16 regional programmes, one for each of the Polish regions. Of the regional programmes, only the one for ?wi??tokrzyskie remains to be adopted, and this should be validated before the end of the year.

All of Poland is covered by the Convergence objective in the new framework for 2007-2013. The country is the biggest beneficiary for the new programming period, with €67.3 billion.

The Infrastructure and Environment Programme will contribute to the achievement of the Lisbon strategy for jobs and growth agreed by all Member states in 2000, as 66% of the community contribution will be dedicated to this: research and innovation, resource and energy efficiency, freeing up of small and medium enterprises, entrepreneurship, education.

For further information on regional policy, see: