The European Commission has just approved the Interreg Poland-Slovakia programme (26 September 2022). The budget of the programme amounts to nearly 130 million euros from the ERDF for the Polish-Slovak border areas.

‘Interreg programmes have been supporting the cooperation between people across the borders in Europe for 32 years and in Poland for nearly 20 years. They facilitate joint solving of problems and knowledge exchange. Thanks to them, we are building neighbour relations and developing cooperation in an international partnership. The importance of cross-border cooperation can be clearly seen now that Poland has received hundreds of thousands of refugees from Ukraine. It was possible thanks to the links created between our countries on the level of individuals, organisations and local governments’,

Minister Grzegorz Puda said at the opening of the Interreg Poland-Slovakia 2021-2027 programme.

‘Among other things, the integration of local communities across the borders is supported by small projects. Such projects are implemented as a part of Small Project Funds, by Euroregions and Slovak self-governing regions. Their implementation demonstrates how local communities can be excellently integrated through culture, upholding traditions, environmental protection and cooperation between municipalities and local institutions. Thanks to Interreg programmes, a border is no longer a barrier’,

he added.

As Minister Puda stressed, Euroregions, EGTC and Slovak self-governing regions skilfully use EU funds to support the implementation of small projects related to culture, arts, upholding traditions, education, sports, tourism and environmental protection. Local communities are also integrated thanks to such projects. And these are only some of the areas for which beneficiaries can get funding from EU funds. Thanks to the involvement of local governments, public institutions and local self-government organisations Interreg has become a brand recognized on both sides of the border.

Joint strategy of the Programme – challenges and priorities

Interreg Poland-Slovakia 2021-2027 will carry out its activities under four priority axes:

• Nature-friendly and safe borderland,
• Better connected borderland,
• Creative borderland attractive for tourists,
• Cooperation of institutions and residents of the borderland.

What will the new programme be like?

Priorities of the Programme are part of the European Green Deal strategy and the criteria that promote green solutions will be applied during the selection of projects. Projects to be implemented under the Programme will support environmental and climate goals of the cohesion policy, including those related to biodiversity.

The programme for 2021-2027 opens up to small and medium enterprises with projects related to:

• Adaptation to climate change and prevention of the risk of natural disasters
• Improvement of the protection and conservation of nature, biodiversity
• and strengthening the role of culture and sustainable tourism in economic development, social inclusion and social innovations.

Additionally, social participation is a new feature of the programme. Participation involves the inclusion of various social groups in the designing and implementation of ventures related to culture and tourism. Participation is there for the projects to respond to various social needs better.

The purpose of Interreg programmes is the integrated and harmonious regional development of border areas. Two bilateral programmes, with the Czech Republic and Slovakia, are being implemented on the southern border of Poland. The themes of the programmes still ongoing in the 2014-2020 financial perspective include cultural and natural heritage, cross-border education and cooperation between institutions and people.

The new edition of the Interreg Poland-Slovakia programme for 2021-2027 will continue funding cultural and natural heritage and the cooperation between institutions and inhabitants. New topics will also appear when it comes to adaptation to climate changes and conservation of biodiversity in the southern borderlands.

The networking of institutions from different sectors, e.g. the cooperation of public institutions with the private sector in order to provide services to local communities and tourists, is an important element in the social and economic development of tourism in the border region. Direct cooperation with the SME sector will be possible under the programme with Slovakia.

One of the key challenges will be to minimise negative consequences of the pandemic, especially in tourism-related industries.

Under the new Poland-Slovakia programme, it will be possible to support activities related to education on topics related to raising residents' awareness of environmental care, climate change, biodiversity, waste segregation, energy efficiency and care for a clean environment.

‘Cross-border projects are vitally important to the development of the region. Revitalised parts of natural and cultural heritage and a modernised road infrastructure improve the accessibility and attractiveness of the Poland-Slovakia borderlands to tourists. Innovative educational initiatives multiply the social capital resources. Both inhabitants of the borderlands and Polish and international tourists visiting the borderlands in great numbers take advantage of results of such projects. The projects to be implemented offer new impetus for strengthening cross-border cooperation’,

Minister Grzegorz Puda concluded.

Competitions for projects will start towards the end of November and early in December this year.

The main achievements of Interreg programmes were summarised at the event, the Minister of Development Funds and Regional Policy thanked the voivodeship governments for their active involvement in the implementation of previous editions of the Poland-Slovakia programme. Beneficiaries presented successful projects.

The Interreg Poland-Slovakia 2021-2027 Programme promotes cross-border cooperation between Poland and Slovakia. Its territorial range covers the following border areas:

• in Poland – in the Śląskie voivodeship: Bielski subregion and Pszczyński poviat from the Tyski subregion; in the Małopolskie voivodeship: Oświęcimski, Nowosądecki, Nowotarski subregions and the Myślenicki poviat from the Krakowski subregion; in the Podkarpackie voivodeship: Krośnieński and Przemyski subregions, City of Rzeszów poviat and Rzeszowski poviat from the Rzeszowski subregion,
• in Slovakia – subregions: Žilina Self-Governing Region and Prešov Self-Governing Region, and the Spišská Nová Ves Poviat in the Košice Self-Governing Region.

More about the programme on its website: pl.plsk.eu