Planning for the future
The National Development Plan provides guidelines for the distribution of EUR 137 (zł.536) billion, of which EUR 80 (zł.313) billion will be paid out from the EU funds. Its counterpart for 2004-2006 is already being implemented and although the current government finished working on the new one, it will be the next government's task to decide on its final shape.
"We've done everything there was to be done apart from dotting the is and crossing ts - that is without the adoption of the plan by the Council of Ministers. We're leaving this project for consideration of the next government so that they can introduce any amendments and changes they think are needed," Jerzy Hausner, former Minister of Labor, told Rzeczpospolita.
Summing up the government's work on the project, Prime Minister Marek Belka expressed his hope that the longtime efforts of politicians and local authorities would not go down the drain.
The National Development Plan is the most important strategic document indicating the direction of socio-economic development of the country as a whole and its regions. Individual country plans are prepared by each European Union member state then discussed by the European Commission to ensure that the aims of each country did not conflict with the common purpose of the Union.
