Available EU funds for investments in the transport industry

Due to long-standing neglect in the development of transport potential in Poland, catching up on accumulated investment backlogs using only national budget funds poses a significant problem. A particularly low share of transport in investment expenditure on the economy occurred in the 1990s. In some years, this share was only at the level of 3.5%, while in light of generally accepted standards, it should not be less than 10%.Also currently, spending appropriate financial resources from the national budget on necessary investments in transport is practically impossible. According to data from the Ministry of Finance in 2009, the state budget deficit – similar to 2008 – amounted to 24-25 billion PLN. However, the actual deficit in 2009, due to the exclusion of part of the debt from the budget (National Road Fund loans, Social Insurance Fund loans), is even three times higher than that officially presented by the Ministry of Finance. Furthermore, for the first time since 2009, financial flows between Poland and the EU budget are a component of the Polish budget.
Problems with balancing the budget this year will deepen, as an increase in the budget deficit is expected. Under these conditions, the effectiveness of investment activities in the transport sector largely depends on the use of EU funds.
Until joining the European Union, Poland had the opportunity to use non-repayable financial aid granted under the PHARE, ISPA, and SAPARD programs.
These programs played an important role in the process of financing transport investments. In total, between 1991 and 2003, Poland obtained 1.9 billion euros for transport needs from pre-accession aid funds (PHARE and ISPA).
These instruments were a significant factor mobilizing the public sector to engage more broadly, especially in the development of transport infrastructure. However, above all, the ability to use the financial instruments of the European Union’s pre-accession policy was of significant importance during this period for preparing candidate countries to use the proper instruments of EU structural policy.
Poland’s accession to the EU on May 1, 2004, created a formal basis for using all of its regional ini- (…)

Available EU funds for investments in the transport industry – PDF file for download