EU funds for Polish eastern voivodeships

Five Polish regions have signed nine agreements for road investments under the European Funds for Eastern Poland programme, according to the Polish magazine Pap Business.

The projects will see upgrades to around 214km of roads and construction of 17km of roads.

The European Funds for Eastern Poland 2021-27 programme offers additional funds, apart from the support  under regional and other Polish national programmes. The aim is to accelerate economic development of the Eastern
voivodeships.

The total available under the programme is €2.7 billion of which around €430 million has been earmarked for the region’s voivodeship roads. Other areas for investment are entrepreneurship development, smart energy distribution networks, biodiversity protection, favourable urban climate: adaptation to climate change and zero-emission mobility modern transport; and sustainable tourism

A voivodeship is the highest-level administrative division of Poland, corresponding to a province in many other countries. Today's voivodeships are named mostly after historical and geographical regions. They range in area from under 10,000km² - Opole Voivodeship - to over 35,000km² - Masovian Voivodeship. Populations range from nearly one million to more than five million.

According to the government, eastern Poland covers over 40% of the country's area and has a population of around 10.5 million - just over a quarter of the country's total. Eastern Poland also accounts for 20%  of the gross domestic product.