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COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS – DIRECTORATE E – Horizontal Policies and Networks

DIRECTORATE C – Consultative Work, COTER Commission

Questionnaire on the

Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Connecting Europe Facility

[COM(2011) 665]

Submitted by Dr Ivan Zagar (SI/EPP) for consultation

Please complete and return this questionnaire by 15 January 2012. You may send it by email to the following address:.

Name of Authority: / Office of the Marshal of the Pomorskie Voivodship
Contact person: / Michał Ostrowski
Contact details (telephone, email): / +48583268692,

Please answer the following questions:

Governance and implementation issues

  1. Do you believe thatthe Connecting Europe Facility will bring added value to EU action in the area of TEN-T (including a leverage effect on sustainable growth and jobs and social, economic and territorial cohesion)? Please explain and provide examples to support your answer.

In our opinion, the instruments currently in place are sufficient for ensuring the efficient implementation of infrastructure projects. The attempt to introduce a number of different support systems not only means more red tape but above all represents a departure from the idea of an integrated approach to development supported by Poland.
  1. Please describe how local and regional authorities will be involved in the CEF decision making process in your Member State (including the impact of CEF on your territorial planning and development strategies).

Local and regional authorities will be involved in the consultations on the objectives andplans relating to CEF implementation, in line with the powers attributed to them by law. Priority is given to this processwhen preparing strategic documents and land use plans, and the methodology for creating TEN-Tnetwork is applied accordingly. However, we should not expect local and regional authorities to have any significant impact on the decisions taken as – in accordance with the structure of the CEF – these decisions will be taken in the capitals of the Member States.

Cohesion Policy and the CEF

  1. How may coherent compatibility be ensured between projects financed through the Structural and Cohesion Funds and those financed through the CEF? What will be the impact of the CEF on smaller projects?

An effective system for implementing CEF action is vital for ensuringcomplementarity and coordination with cohesion policy and TEN-T projects. Acommon EUmethodology for planning transport networks anda greater emphasis on the creation of truly transnational networks to provideall Member States with equal access to the core networkshouldhelp significantly reduce the "patchwork" effect that currently exists at the borders of neighbouring countries in the same transport corridor.
The introduction of the CEF can threaten the realisation ofprojects which, while smaller in scale, have a significant impact.

Budgetary issues

  1. What is the expected impact of the CEF proposal on your public budget and on the use of other National and EU Funds?

The creation of a new facility will lead to a greater centralisation of funds, making it more difficult for the regions to access them directly. When allocating national and EU funds, priority will only be given to large-scale projects of pan-regional importance, which can exacerbate the isolation of certain regions. Regional funds do not represent a sufficient source of financing for investments in the regions while the allocation of EUR 10 billion from the Cohesion Fund to projects carried out under the CEF represents a departure from the idea of an integrated approach to development supported by Poland.

Internal Market

  1. Can you identify any possible effect on public procurement rules and state aid?

The introduction of a new instrument will mean that individual Member States will need toamend theirpublic procurement rules. Differences between the legal systems of the Member States could represent a significant obstacle to joint investment.

Cross-border issues

  1. What challenges and opportunities does the CEFpresent to border regions (including the possible use of the EGTC)?

An opportunity to raise the profile of cross-border investments at the planning stage in the Member States, making it possible to reap greater benefits on a European scale;
It will be particularly difficult to use an instrument such as the EGTC in Poland to carry outcross-border projects under the CEF as the regions lack experience in how to set up EGTCs; moreover, the proposed CEF structure, where decisions are taken at central government level (in the capitals of the Member States) is not conducive to involving the regions in the decision-making process.

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