IMPACT OF THE EU FUNDS IN THE FIELD OF TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE – NATIONAL AND REGIONAL DIMENSION

The following study aims at presenting the scale and impact of the projects concerning the development of the transport infrastructure in Poland co-financed from the European Union’s funds. The authors present the hypothesis that to date the impact of the said projects (implemented within the framework of both National Development Plan 2004-2006 and the National Strategic Reference Framework 2007-2013) is – due to both prolonged period of negligence in this area and dynamic economic development – not significant enough to satisfy the existing needs in the analyzed area. It is emphasized, however, that the said projects have constituted an important part of the investment effort aimed at systematic improvement of the transportation system in Poland. The authors assert not only that in order to meet the existing needs in this field the investment process should continue under the framework of the financial perspective 2014-2020, but also that the continued development of the transport infrastructure should be based on the network-based paradigm and grounded in a solid institutional framework.