The effective use of EU funds for environmental activities in the Operational Program Infrastructure and Environment (OP I&E)

Abstract

Polish accession to the European Union in 2004 initiated in our country a number of positive changes. In 2013, another period of funding from the budget of European Union passes, this time a seven-year period. There were planned several programs for 2007–2013 to help in various areas such as economy, science, as well as activities for environmental protection. Such programs include Operational Program Infrastructure and Environment (OP I&E). Under it one could get funding from the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund. A high level of environmental protection is one of the priority objectives of the European Union. Therefore, so important is to realize actions that positively contribute to the improvement of the environment, which is the main task of the OP I&E. The activities realized under the program are monitored by the Ministry of the Environment as an Intermediary Institution being responsible for the supervision of the priorities in the environmental sector. A high percentage of use of the allocation of EU funds can attest to the effectiveness of the entities in obtaining co-funding for environmental projects. To gain funds, it is important to have an actual knowledge and understanding of all necessary application documents and one should have skills to be able to draw up the proposal. Taking everything into consideration, it gives potential beneficiaries an opportunity of obtaining EU funding for the projects. The publication aims at summarizing to what extent the funds allocated for environmental projects under the OP I&E had a positive impact on the environment in our country, what has been achieved and what remains to be done in the upcoming period.