The consultations started with the press conference attended by the prime minister - Mateusz Morawiecki, by the minister of finance, development funds and regional policy - Tadeusz Kościński and the deputy minister of development funds and regional policy - Małgorzata Jarosińska-Jedynak.

Funds, that we have negotiated for Poland at the European Council Summit in July, are the biggest in the history. To these amounts we add also the money from the national budget. We will use the means from both sources for the recovery of the economy after the epidemic. This is a great opportunity, which is why we are already working today to restore vitality to the economy. The consultations of the Partnership Agreement that started today are a part of these actions

- said Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

The Partnership Agreement defines goals and of the way of investing the EU funds from the cohesion policy for which we will have EUR 72.2 billion and from Just Transition Fund we will have EUR 3.8 billion. This is approx. EUR 76 billion in total.

The Partnership Agreement is our business plan for investing the EU funds. These means along with the national funds will support the most important development needs of Poland. For years, we have been at the forefront of the effective investment of these funds in the EU

- noted minister Tadeusz Kościński.

The funds available under the cohesion policy will be allocated for investment in innovation, entrepreneurship, digitalisation, infrastructure, environment protection, power engineering, education and social affairs.

Polish development needs are not the only factor influencing the way these funds will be  invested. EU priorities such as research, innovation, digitalisation, climate and environment and the regulations issued at the EU level, are also important. On one hand, they show that, for example, 30% of the EU budget should support the EU climate’s actions – cohesion policy must also contribute to this. 

On the other hand, means from the Just Transition Fund will be focused on mitigating the effects of transformation towards a climate neutral economy. The following voivodships will benefit from it: śląskie, małopolskie, dolnośląskie, wielkopolskie, lubelskie i łódzkie.

Just like in 2014-2020 financing period also in the new perspective that is beginning approximatively 60% of the funds from the cohesion policy will go to programmes carried out at the national level. The remaining 40% will be allocated to regional programmes, managed by the voivodship’s marshals.

National programmes will be thematically similar to those currently implemented. That means that money from the cohesion policy we will invest in, among others, development of infrastructure and environment protection, increasing human capital , building digital competences and supporting Eastern Poland macroregion.

The distribution of funds for individual national programmes is already known:

• Infrastructure and Environment – EUR 25.1 billion (including the largest infrastructure investments, roads, railways, public transport, environment protection)
• Smart Growth – EUR 8 billion (including innovation, cooperation between science and business)
• Knowledge Education Development – EUR 4.3 billion (including science education, nurseries, social affairs)
• Digital Poland – EUR 2 billion (including digitalisation, broadband networks)
• Eastern Poland – EUR 2.5 billion (special support for Eastern Poland voivodships)
• Technical Assistance – EUR 0.5 billion (support for institutions implementing the EU funds)
• Just Transition programme – EUR 4.4 billion (aid in transformation process for mining regions: śląskie, małopolskie, dolnośląskie, wielkopolskie, łódzkie i lubelskie)
• Food Aid programme – EUR 0.2 billion
• Fisheries programme – EUR 0.5 billion  
• European Territorial Cooperation programmes – EUR 0.56 billion.

The names of national programmes are not established yet. The programmes will have similar thematic scopes to those we know from the perspective 2014-2020, therefore the names of the existing programmes have been used in the above list.

The funds we also assigned for regional programmes:

• dolnośląskie – EUR 870 million
• kujawsko-pomorskie – EUR 1.475 billion
• lubelskie – EUR  1.768 billion
• lubuskie – EUR 736 million
• łódzkie – EUR 1.631 billion
• małopolskie – EUR 1.541 billion
• mazowieckie – EUR 1.67 billion
• opolskie – EUR 763 million
• podkarpackie – EUR 1.661 billion
• podlaskie – EUR 992 million
• pomorskie – EUR 1.129 billion
• śląskie – EUR 2.365 billion
• świętokrzyskie – EUR 1.106 billion
• warmińsko-mazurskie – EUR 1.228 billion
• wielkopolskie – EUR 1.070 billion
• zachodniopomorskie – EUR 1.311 billion.

Funds for the regional programmes were divided according to an algorithm based on objective criteria, including population and GDP per capita. 75% of the funds were already allocated, and 25% were allocated to the programme reserve to be split at the later stage of programming during negotiations of the programme agreement.

Additionally six regions (śląskie, łódzkie, małopolskie, lubelskie, dolnośląskie i wielkopolskie) will receive EUR 4.4 billion from the Just Transition Fund and from the cohesion policy (EUR 3.8 billion from the JTF and EUR 560 million from the cohesion policy).

Programme for Eastern Poland will cover six regions – lubelskie, podkarpackie, podlaskie, świętokrzyskie, warmińsko-mazurskie and, what is new in this perspective, mazowieckie region (without Warsaw and 9 surrounding poviats).

A good business plan must have measurable results.  That is why, in the draft of the Partnership Agreement there are also several dozen indicators defining the goals we want to achieve

- explained the deputy minister of the development funds and regional policy, Małgorzata Jarosińska-Jedynak.  

These indicators are, for example:

• GDP per capita in relation to the EU average – 95% to be achieved in 2030 (in 2019 it was 72%)
• Investment rate – 25% to be achieved in 2030 (in 2019 it was 18.6%)
• R&D expenditure in relation to GDP (GERD) – 2.5% to be achieved in 2030 (in 2019 it was 1.21%)

The Partnership Agreement is the effect of successful negotiations, both financial ones conducted by the Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, and those regarding the rules of investing European Funds conducted by the Ministry of the Development Funds and Regional Policy. During both of them Poland manage to achieve:

• more money for the cohesion policy than in the original proposal of the European Commission (by 2 PLN billion in constant prices)
• EUR 3.8 billion for the just transition for the mining regions, to which Poland adds over PLN 560 million from its envelope for the cohesion policy 
• additional over EUR 670 million for Eastern Poland
• possibility of financing from the cohesion policy means of: tourism, culture, gas infrastructure, rolling stock and investment in airport security
• higher co-financing levels (85% for less-developed regions, and the original proposition was 70%)
• greater flexibility in investing EU funds (for example, more possibilities of shifting money between funds)