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MAZOWSZE GOVERNMENT
Big needs
Our region has practically been in Europe for a long time. The cooperation with European regions started in 1999, just after the administrative reform in the country - says Adam Struzik.
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Adam Struzik |
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ADAM STRUZIK
Speaker of Mazowsze Province
Jerzy Wojciewski: How do you address the issues of Mazowsze from the headquaters of the speaker of Mazowsze Province?
Adam Struzik: Mazowsze is a diverse region. It is often divided into rich Warsaw and the poor provinces. In my vision of Mazowsze development , the riches of Warsaw are the trump card of our region. I believe, that the development impulse should go from the capital city into the poor provinces and subregional areas of Płock, Ostrołęka, Radom, Siedlce and Ciechanów. In the provinces people should find the sense of work and life, however the local authorities must provide jobs to stop outflow of good, well educated personnel. Otherwise a South American model awaits us – gigantic slums around big cities and deserted villages and small towns. When I look at the involvement of local governments in building new roads, sewage treatment plants, schools and sporting facilities, how they renovate old country manors and palaces, I say that soon the province of Mazowsze will become an attractive place for entrepreneurs and people tired of living in the big cities to settle down.
In Mazowsze’s budget there is a symbolic amount of money for regional investment. How does the province management intend to attain EU funds?
Unfortunately, in the province budget there is not much money for development. I place huge hopes on EU structural funds. Between 2004-2006 such an injection of money for the province will be 300 million euro (about 1.4 million PLN), which are granted within the Integrated Operating Program for Regional Development, and the money from some of the sector operating programs. In comparison, in 2003 the local government of the province could allocate about 153 million PLN on investment. There is a possibility that we will use the EU Cohesion Fund. It is a mechanism of supporting under-invested and weakly developed regions. This fund gives chance for investment in infrastructure, changing of qualification and supplementing people’s education, additional financing of education and culture, and as a result raising the competitiveness of the region.
Mister speaker, if in your office a serious investor would show up...
... we would warmly and carefully take care of them. Our competent clerks from appropriate departments are able to direct the investor correctly and find an appropriate partner. It is because, one of the priority tasks of the Mazowsze government is taking care of balancing the development of the whole region. We are trying to attract the investors to parts of the region which were previously underappreciated. I personally take great care to supporting small and medium size companies, and in this sector I can see the drive of our economy outside Warsaw. Recently, due to our international contacts we managed to attract Swiss capital to Siedlce. The Swiss company Stedler, manufacturing modern trains, in 2005 will activate their factory and create approximately 500 new jobs. For the Siedlce authorities, where unemployment reaches 25 percent, this is a valuable investor. In my opinion it is not so bad concerning the possibilities of investing in Warsaw. It is a much more difficult situation everywhere else in the region.
The local government of the Mazowsze region for the last few years have been cooperating with many EU regions. Can you evaluate this collaboration?
Our region has practically been in Europe for a long time. The cooperation with European regions started in 1999, just after the administrative reform in the country. Currently Mazowsze has signed cooperation agreements with eight regions: Ille-de-France (France), Brussels (Belgium), Stockholm (Sweden), Veneto (Italy), Pest (Hungary), Brandenburg, Sachsen-Anhalt (Germany), Smoleńsk (Russian Federation). The procedures connected with signing the cooperation agreement with Moscow Region have just been finished. This year we plan to prepare agreements with Kiev Region and Lviv Region. There were also first working contacts with Valencia and Aragonia Region (Spain) and Prague Region (Czech Republic).
The cooperation with the European regions is concerned about the experiences exchange connected with European integration and effective use of structural funds. the countries of “The Fifteen” have this behind them. Our partners from France, Belgium or Germany are glad to exchange experiences and knowledge, as well as help to make contacts with EU institutions. This knowledge is very important and will allow us to avoid many mistakes and, I hope, for one hundred percent use EU funds granted for regional development.
Thank you.
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