Chernihiv was told about the experience of Poland in the European Union
On May 19, a roundtable was held in Chernihiv on “Polish European Integration lessons: what Ukraine can learn.” The event was organized by the Polissya Fund of International and Regional Research. Guests from Poland, Kiev, Kharkiv, Chernihiv experts, representatives of the public and authorities took part in the round table. Yuriy Vdovenko, Vice President of the Polissya Foundation “, addressed the participants with a welcoming speech, in particular, he said that” over time for Ukraine does not lose the relevance of studying the experience of European integration of neighboring countries. “
The guests told about the experience of Poland in the EU. Thus, the chairman of the Board of the Association “Center of European Cooperation” Markian Zhelyak informed the audience about Poland today, comparing it with Poland yesterday. But still “Poland takes 20 – 30 years to reach the average level of the EU,” he said.
The secretary of the municipality of M. Zaklichin Janusz Kzhizak told more about the economic achievements of the country after joining the EU. According to him, belonging to the European Union has measuring financial consequences for Poland: on the one hand, the country has become more than before the entry, the addressee of European funds, and on the other hand, it must fill the budget of the community, like all Member States. Poland, like all member states of the community, is obliged to contribute to the EU budget in the form of monthly contributions. From May 2004 to August 2007 (40 months), Poland received more resources from the EU budget than made contributions paid. Poland’s contributions to the EU budget then amounted to 7 876 363 773.13 euros. Transfers of European Funds to Poland reached 15 466 848 124.63 euros. The Saldo payments between Poland and the EU are 7 520 860 563.74 euros. Thanks to the EU funds from 2004, by the middle of 2007, more than 80,000 projects were implemented, of which almost 50,000 completed projects were supported by the EU of more than 7.7 billion zlotys (2.2 billion euros). 314 thousand new jobs were created.
EU financial resources have helped to increase the competitiveness of enterprises. 73 business support institutions, 35 large and 237 and small businesses were supported. “The farmers were most satisfied,” Janusz Kzizak added, as representatives of the agricultural sector within the framework of direct surcharges for agricultural development received more than 2 billion euros.
During the discussion, experts, together with the speakers, tried to find out what lessons Ukraine could take from Polish experience. Thoughts were different, but they all touched on one EU topic is not a panacea for all disasters, but cooperation with EU countries and membership has some advantages for our country.
At the end of the Round Table, the winners of the competition among journalists for the best publication of the EU and NATO, which took place within the framework of the project “Honest information about the EU and NATO for the population of Chernihiv and Poltava regions” with the financial support of the International Renaissance Foundation “. The winners were Alla Kopilovskaya (Chernihiv ODTRK), Valentina Gromov (Regional Radio), Maxim Zabashtansky (Economic Viewer), Alexander Nazarenko (“Our Word”, Mena), Alexander Lomako (“Chernihiv Public”). They will all go to Poland in the summer.