On October 31, 2022, within the framework of the project «EU Initiative Eastern Partnership: Opportunities for Ukraine» (EaP Initiative), and with the support of the EU Erasmus+ programme, Jean Monnet Actions, a public lecture was conducted by Professor Teresa Astramowicz-Leyk, the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Republic of Poland, head of the Commission on International Cooperation of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship Sejmik. The topic was «EU financial instruments for the development of regions (on the example of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship)».
At the beginning of her speech, Professor Astramowicz-Leyk familiarized the participants with the features and main stages of the decentralization reform of the Republic of Poland in the context of the European integration process and convergence to European standards in the field of local self-government. She also presented the EU investment budget for the development of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship for 2007–2020.
In general, Professor Teresa Astramowicz-Leyk noted that over 30 billion zloty were received from European funds for the development of the region during the outlined period, and almost 19 billion were regional co-financing. Significant investments were directed into renewable energy, the construction of the Olsztyn-Mazury regional airport, the local waste management system, broadband networks in the region, the modernization and development of roads, the construction and repair of cultural institutions, in particular the Warmian-Masurian Philharmonic, the improvement of recreational and sports infrastructure, etc. Also, with the help of the European projects, almost seven thousand new jobs were created in the region.
Students and teaching staff of Lviv Polytechnic National University actively participated in the discussion of the topic. They were especially interested in the issues of European investments in education and science, control over the proper use of such funds, the possibility of participation of civil society institutions in investment programs from the EU, etc.
The open lecture included numerous examples of the development of regional investments from the EU, not only from the experience of Poland, but also from Germany, where Teresa Astramowicz-Leyk has been conducting a research internship at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich for several months in a row.
In total, almost 80 people – students and faculty of Lviv Polytechnic took part in the lecture. The event was moderated by Professor Yaryna Turchyn, project manager. Other participants of the project, including Iryna Sukhorolska, Olha Ivasechko, Oksana Yurynets and Oleh Tsebenko, Department of Political Science and International Relations, joined the preparation of the event.
The project team expresses its gratitude to all the participants of this event and continues to work on the preparation of other, no less interesting events on the current topics of European integration of Ukraine and cooperation with the European Union. We invite everyone to join us!
More detailed information about the project can be found on its website within the Lviv Polytechnic portal.
