Poland will receive over CHF 320 million from the next edition of the Swiss-Polish Cooperation Programme to improve the life in smaller towns and facilitate research.
Malgorzata Jarosinska-Jedynak, the minister for development funds and regional policy, announced that the second edition of the Swiss-Polish Cooperation Programme would cover two initiatives.
First, the Polish-Swiss Programme for Development of Towns, with a budget of CHF 278.7 million, aims to reduce economic and social disparities within Poland by increasing the quality of life in medium-sized towns.
The second part of the Swiss-Polish Cooperation is the Research and Innovation Programme, amounting to CHF 35 million. Its objective is to further strengthen the research excellence and innovation capacities of Polish research organisations, universities and enterprises by facilitating the research and innovation cooperation with the Swiss and international partners.
Switzerland, although not an EU member, supports the development of several member states (including Poland) through a pool of funds. The first edition of the Swiss-Polish Cooperation Programme covered 2007 to 2017. Poland has already received CHF 489 million of aid, which financed over 1,500 projects in environmental protection, energy innovation, improvement of transport infrastructure and preventive healthcare. (PAP/Business World Magazine)
