A challenging opportunity
Andrzej Wróbel: What is your opinion about the National Cohesion Strategy (NSR), which will soon be sent to the European Commission?
Danuta Hübner: The government has proposed the distribution of funds in the regions and operational programs after consultations with local authorities and social partners, and with regard to the indicative allocation of funds suggested by the Commission. I am positive that the decisions are based on a thorough analysis of the current situation and the country's development needs and are an inherent part of the country's planned development strategy.
Nevertheless, the National Strategic Reference Framework and the Operational Programs (PO) have to reflect and directly contribute to the implementation of the Community Strategic Guidelines for Cohesion Policy 2007-2013 and fulfil the criteria defined in the Community regulations. Once Poland sends the NSR in, the Commission will analyze the document and present its remarks, and when the final version of the NSR is agreed, the Commission will investigate whether the requirements are effectively implemented on the ground.
The structural funds allocated to the regions are significant, but each project must be partly funded by the region from its own resources. Will all the regions be able to find the cash that will enable them to absorb all funds?
We have to remember that a large part of investments in the regions will be financed under the framework of sectoral programs, such as large-scale transport and environmental infrastructure, which are co-financed at the national level. However, it's true that the amount of funds directly managed by the regions will be much higher than in 2004-2006. This means the regions will not only have to find their own resources for co-funding, but will also have to create an effective system for absorption of EU funds within the regional operational programs.
The lesson learned so far will be helpful. Recently the government launched a process of facilitating the liquidity of the whole absorption system, and the positive results of this can now be seen. Still, in order to achieve the full absorption of funds, close and effective cooperation between the government and regional authorities will be crucial.
The regional operational programs seem to be very similar. Do they reflect the needs of individual regions?
It's essential to remember that the development gap between Poland and the EU-25 average is huge. At the same time, significant differences can be noticed between the voivodships, five of which belong to the group of the 10 poorest regions in the EU. The regional operational programs (RPOs) should enhance their growth potential and their competitive advantages in order to build foundations for sustainable economic growth and job creation. Apart from RPOs, there are other investments within the sectoral operational programs, managed at the national level, which also contribute to the development of particular regions.
Poland is lagging behind more developed EU members in most social and economic sectors. Therefore each program includes intervention in such areas as environmental protection, road infrastructure, and the modernization of educational infrastructure. However, it is the regions themselves that have to decide which priority should be stressed through the choice of projects and investments. And we can see quite substantial differences in the regional approach.
Do you have any advice for both the Minister of Regional Development and the voivodship marshals that could help them implement the aims of the NSR?
The European Commission is engaged in the preparation of the next financing period in Poland, so working contacts are maintained both at the national and regional level. Any suggestions are also passed in that way.
The effective implementation of the regional policy requires a proper system of project selection. The 2007-2013 allocation of funds will be much higher than now, which means that the payment levels needed to meet the N+2 requirement (2011-2013) will be enormous. Thus it is essential to have projects that will generate the payments quickly, so that there will be no problems with the fulfilment of the N+3 requirement (2007-2010) in relation to the 2007 allocation.
Taking into account current experiences, specific attention should be drawn to transport and environmental infrastructure. There should be a list of reserve projects that could absorb allocated funds in case there are difficulties in the implementation of certain projects.
I encourage Polish authorities to make the best use of the JASPERS, JESSICA and JEREMIE initiatives launched by the European Commission in cooperation with the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The objective of these initiatives is to assist member states and regions in the most effective implementation of cohesion policy in the next financing period.
The NSR and the POs constitute a general framework for the implementation of regional policy in Poland. However, the government shall prepare other, more technical national documents defining, for example, the criteria for project selection.
In the next period, the management function of the Commission will be decentralized and passed to member states, which will make the system more flexible but also put a greater burden on the national administration. In particular it will be a challenge for the regions since they will become the managing authorities for the regional operational programs.
