Poland will benefit from the revision of EU programs. Hundreds of millions of euros will be redirected to security

As part of the revision of EU programs in Finland, the three Baltic countries, but also in Poland, Romania and Bulgaria, hundreds of millions of euros will be redirected to security, defense, dual-use infrastructure and shelters, announced Agnes Monfret from the European Commission.

During the European Week of Cities and Regions last week, a debate was held in Brussels on security in eastern regions.

When asked about the pact for eastern border areas, Monfret, who is responsible for the Baltic region in the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (REGIO) in the European Commission, announced a far-reaching revision of the existing programs.

“In countries such as Finland, the three Baltic countries, but also in Poland, Romania and Bulgaria, there will be a huge revision of programs. Hundreds of millions of euros will be allocated to security, defense, dual-use infrastructure and shelters,” Monfret said.

Details of the new programs are expected to be presented before the end of the year.

The discussion also touched on the Polish topic, in which the authorities of border towns shared their experiences.

“We saw that infrastructure managed by local governments was used in a crisis situation. Although so far it has not been treated as dual-use infrastructure, it turns out that when designing the future cohesion policy, it is worth going in this direction,” said Władysław Ortyl, the Marshal of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship.

Ortyl also referred to the announcement announced in June this year. in Białowieża by the Vice-President of the European Commission and EU Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Raffaele Fitto – pact for eastern border regions. It turned out that the pact would not apply to towns bordering Ukraine.

“It's either a mistake, an oversight, or some kind of misunderstanding, because the problems also accumulate in the areas bordering Ukraine,” said the marshal of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship. The formulation of the pact is currently at the stage of consultations with regions, social partners, entrepreneurs and civil society organizations.

Subsidies for the eastern border regions were not included in the proposals for the next multiannual financial framework, which were presented by the European Commission in mid-July. However, EC representatives assure that this is the beginning of negotiations and the matter is not yet finalized.

The plenary meeting of the European Committee of the Regions was held on October 13-15 this year. in Brussels. Its participants debated defense, cohesion policy and regions' resilience to climate change. In parallel, the European Week of Regions and Cities took place at the headquarters of the CoR and the European Parliament.

The European Week of Regions and Cities is the largest annual event dedicated to regional and urban policy, highlighting the key role of the local and regional level in effective European governance. The event brings together political representatives, officials, experts and academics from regions and cities across Europe, providing an essential platform for communication and networking.

From Brussels Małgorzata Ostrowska (PAP)

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