Slash red tape to let the funding flow
According to the Polish Confederation of Private Employers (PKPP) Lewiatan, only 10 percent of the EU structural funds payments for 2004 to 2006 have been made. The amount of funds for these two years is tiny compared to the next period, which begins next year and continues to 2013.
In view of the experience of the last two years, PKPP Lewiatan is seeking solutions for the next period. "Time is passing very quickly and if we don't introduce good solutions - and here the collaboration of administration and economic institutions is needed - it will turn out that once again many things will be blocked," says Henryka Bochniarz, president of PKPP.
"There are only a couple of months to work on the programs. If we fail to do it in time, we will not get the time to think about it again until 2014," says Grażyna Gęsicka, Minister of Regional Development. According to Gęsicka, the Ministry has already started a number of changes to the application procedures as well as to the payment procedures, but time is needed before they can take effect. She is also giving advice to entrepreneurs, who are very often unaware that they can influence the shape of the regional operational programs.
A line in the sand
However, the Regional Development Ministry believes it has crossed an important threshold.
In the years 2004-2006 Poland could get up to EUR 12.8 (zł.52) billion from the EU and EUR 1 (zł.4.08) billion has already been spent.
"We have crossed the Rubicon of spending the first billion euro. Beneficiaries already got this money; we hope that the process of spending will gain momentum, because we have 80 percent of all the sum contracted," says Minister Gęsicka.
The greatest beneficiaries are local governments, with 48 percent of all contracts. State institutions and agencies received some 35 percent, while the share of private companies amounts to a mere six percent.
The main winners
The voivodships with the highest GDP per citizen, that is, Mazowieckie, lšskie, Wielkopolskie and Dolnolšskie, top the list of regions when it comes to the value of support obtained. Gęsicka emphasizes that cohesion policies should help poor regions develop.
"After two years of our membership, the problems these regions have in functioning on their own can be seen," she says. "Poor regions have trouble in preparing projects that could compete with that of Warsaw, Wrocław or Tri-city."
Gęsicka stresses that in order to tackle this problem, more money should be spent on supporting entrepreneurship in the poorer regions, but she believes that they are doing quite well. "Some of the poorest Polish voivodships are in the first half of the list of regions [who are best using EU funds]," she says.
The next step
In the next funding period, the government and the European Commission suggest regions spend some 40 percent of the funds on entrepreneurship.
According to a recent PKPP Lewiatan report, at the end of 2005 almost 10 percent of SMEs were applying for structural funds compared to only 2.8 percent in 2004. Entrepreneurs have high expectations of the funds and would almost certainly benefit from the planned changes. Last year the number of applicants for the funds who were rejected on formalities fell by 40 percent and the number of beneficiaries rose from 6.7 to 40.5 percent.
