Investment in buildings where Poles will find shelter in the event of emergency, but also investment in the protection of critical infrastructure, such as railway lines - all of this will be possible following the enactment of the Act on the Security and Defence Fund (SDF). Today, the first reading of the SDF Act has taken place in the Sejm. Almost every tenth zloty from the NRP is allocated to this fund, the Minister of Development Funds and Regional Policy, Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz said.

Today is a special day for the NRP. We have signed the 900,000th agreement under the NRP, the Minister of Development Funds and Regional Policy, Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz announced in Olsztyn. In the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship, more than 30,000 investment agreements were signed under the NRP, amounting to almost PLN 4 billion. This is money for, among others, the expansion and equipment for hospitals, Industry Skills Centres, high-speed internet and new nursery places.

Improving public transport and access to services, attracting investment, curbing the outflow of young people and adaptation to climate change are only some of the expected benefits of the Act on Sustainable Urban Development. The Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy is currently working on its draft.

More than PLN 26 billion from the 4th and 5th NRP payment applications will be transferred to Poland in early December. We will allocate them, among others, for thermal modernisation of single- and multi-family buildings, new nursery places, high-speed internet access and Industry Skills Centres. We will also invest them in upgrading roads, building new power grids and innovative technologies.

Civil protection, road and rail infrastructure required for the military and cyber security are the most important areas for which almost PLN 20 billion will be allocated under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The Council of Ministers has approved a draft act submitted by the Minister of Development Funds and Regional Policy to launch the Security and Defence Fund.

The unblocking of nearly PLN 600 billion for Poland from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and the cohesion policy, the creation of a fund for investment in security and defence, the establishment of the Critical Technology Support Fund and the preparation of the National Development Strategy 2035 - these are only some of the achievements of the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy over the past two years.

The cancellation of the registration and environmental fee on combustion cars from the NRP; the purchase of satellites to provide Poland with extended and fully sovereign access to secure communications; three times more funding for Polish SMEs and more than twice as much for water and sewerage investment in rural areas - such changes envisaged in the revision of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRP). Today, the Council of Ministers has adopted a negotiating mandate to amend the NRP.

We verified all 3206 projects. 1389 projects were selected for an in-depth analysis and scrutiny, of which, 39 inspections have already been carried out since August, which detected seven irregularities. The Minister for Funds and Regional Policy, Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, presented today the results of checks carried out in connection with media reports on NRP subsidies for HoReCa. The audit process for these grants will continue until the conclusion of the NRP.

The competitiveness of the economy, the mitigation of demographic change and the security of the country are the three main challenges facing Poland over the next 10 years, as identified in the draft medium-term national development strategy. The most important objective? To conduct state policy so that Poland develops in a multicentre way, around small and medium-sized cities, not only in the largest metropolises. Today, the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy launched public consultation on the "National Development Strategy 2035”. Comments can be submitted until the end of October.

Later this year, approximately PLN 26 billion from the fourth and fifth request for payment from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan will be invested in the implementation of further projects that will drive the Polish economy. This money will be allocated, among others, for energy and railway infrastructure or health and education.