The head of the MDFRP has met today in Olsztyn with representatives of the local government of the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship to discuss the opportunities for them to benefit from EU funds.

Today is a special day for the NRP. We have signed the 900,000th agreement under the NRP This is an agreement with the municipality of Długosiodło which will receive funds for the modernisation and construction of water and sewage systems

– Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, the Minister of Development Funds and Regional Policy told journalists in Olsztyn before her meetings with local government officials from the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship.

In the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship, more than 30,000 agreements were signed under the NRP for almost PLN 4 billion.  These investment projects are already in progress. Highlights include money for expansion and equipment for 6 hospitals, 4 Industry Skills Centres, high-speed internet, several thousand new nursery places

– the head of the MDFRP informed.

The NRP and the EF are needed primarily in medium-sized cities such as Olsztyn and in local, district Poland, rather than in large metropolises such as Warsaw. Today, it is local Poland that needs an investment umbrella, a driver of development, as this is also a way to counteract the demographic disaster and to maintain development across Poland – said the Minister of Development Funds and Regional Policy.

NRP for the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship

Up to PLN 36 billion of NRP funds will be allocated to local authorities in Poland. Approximately PLN 16 billion remains to be used.

In the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship, more than 30 thousand agreements have been signed to date, amounting to almost PLN 3.9 billion. The local authorities signed 367 agreements for over PLN 619 thousand. They include investment related to:

• green urban transformation;
• water and sewerage networks in rural areas;
• passenger rolling stock;
• subsidising care places in nurseries and children's clubs;
• replacement of heat sources and improvement of energy efficiency of schools.

These resulted, for example, in building a municipal nursery in Iława, construction of fibre-optic networks in the municipality of Barczewo or sustainable sewage management in the municipality of Pasłęk.

Local authorities can now apply for funds under the ongoing calls for the implementation of planning and spatial development reform and energy efficiency improvements in multi-family housing.

In 2026, a loan-based Security and Defence Fund will be launched, under which approximately PLN 10 billion can be allocated to the local government level for the construction and upgrading of protective structures, road infrastructure and cyber security. Loans for local governments will be interest-free, and some of them may be remitted.

European Funds for the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship

Local governments receive significant support from the European Funds for Infrastructure, Climate and Environment programme, one of the largest EU-funded programmes in the EU (over PLN 100 billion). A total of 343 grant agreements were signed with the total value of PLN 29.9 billion, the beneficiaries of which include local government units.

Eight calls for proposals are currently underway, including the purchase of zero-emission rolling stock for passenger transport and support for mental health centres for children and young people.

One of the areas in which local government units most often use funds from this programme is water and sewage management, investment in nature conservation and climate change adaptation, thermal modernisation, and the modernisation and development of district heating networks.

The modernisation of the Łyna Municipal Sewage Treatment Plant, the reconstruction of the sewage network and the construction of storage reservoirs for rainwater management in the municipality of Olsztyn are examples of investment projects carried out in the Warmińsko-Mazurskie region under this programme.

The schedule of calls planned under this programme includes four calls in which local government units, including those from the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship, can participate. They cover the energy, environment and health sectors. PLN 1.72 billion will be available for distribution.

European Funds for Eastern Poland

The Warmińsko-Mazurskie region is also a beneficiary of the European Funds for Eastern Poland programme, in which PLN 5.1 billion (43 per cent of all money available under the programme) has been earmarked for local authorities. The funds are dedicated, among other things, for measures related to the adaptation of cities to climate change, urban mobility, regional roads and creation of attractive supra-regional tourist routes.

So far, 57 grant agreements have been signed with local authorities, worth PLN 5.27 billion.

Currently two calls for proposals under this programme are planned targeting the LGUs and they relate to the adaptation of cities to climate change.

Regional Programme – European Funds for Warmia and Mazury 2021-2027

From the pool of funds for the regions, the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship received approximately PLN 7.6 billion in the current EU financial perspective. 172 calls for proposals have been announced so far with a budget of PLN 5.5 billion. More than 2,700 applications for PLN 6.1 billion were submitted. 900 grant agreements were signed for nearly PLN 3 billion (39.3 per cent of all funds for the region).

The programme funds for the region are used, among other things, to finance the expansion of the Urania sports and entertainment hall in Olsztyn and infrastructure related to the development of economic functions on the waterways of the Great Masurian Lakes.

In the 2025-2026 call schedule, 35 calls for proposals are addressed to the LGUs (for approximately PLN 727 million). Calls for proposals are underway for, among other things, the digitalisation of public services, thermal modernisation, vocational training and tourism investment. Future calls for proposals will relate to, among other things, energy efficiency, water and wastewater management, purchase or modernisation of low- and zero-emission rolling stock for public transport.