Cel [ENG]

The Swiss-Polish Cooperation Program (commonly referred to as the Swiss Funds or the Swiss Program) is a program under which funds allocated by Switzerland for the development of our country are distributed. This is based on agreements between Switzerland, the European Union, and Poland. The agreement establishing the program was signed on December 5, 2022, in Warsaw. We are currently in the second phase of the Swiss-Polish Cooperation Program. Implementation of the previous phase concluded in 2017.

Poland is not the only country that has a cooperation program with Switzerland. Along with the other 12 countries that have joined the EU since 2004, we benefit from a fund aimed at reducing socioeconomic disparities. Our country is the largest recipient of these funds.

The main objective of the Swiss-Polish Cooperation Program is to reduce socioeconomic disparities within the European Union and in Poland by further strengthening bilateral cooperation between Switzerland and Poland.

Switzerland has allocated 320.1 million Swiss francs to Poland for the Swiss-Polish Cooperation Program. A national contribution must also be added to this amount, bringing the total to 375.458 million Swiss francs. The breakdown of these funds is as follows:

• Polish-Swiss Urban Development Program – 327.882 million Swiss francs (278.7 million from Switzerland and 49.182 million from Poland),
• Research and Innovation Program – 41.176 million Swiss francs (35 million from Switzerland and 6.176 million from Poland),
• Technical Assistance (including the Preparatory Fund) – 6.4 million Swiss francs.

The Minister of Funds and Regional Policy serves as the National Coordinating Authority and is supported in carrying out these tasks by the Department of Aid Programs within the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy. This means that the Minister of Funds and Regional Policy oversees the overall implementation of the Swiss-Polish Cooperation Program and ensures that its objectives are achieved. The Paying Authority is the Department of the Paying Authority within the Ministry of Finance, which ensures that expenditures under the Swiss-Polish Cooperation Program are made in accordance with the law. The audit authority, in turn, is the Department of Public Funds Audit at the Ministry of Finance. Its staff are responsible for preparing the audit strategy and conducting audits of the management and control systems within the Swiss-Polish Cooperation Program.

The operator of the Polish-Swiss Urban Development Program is the Minister of Funds and Regional Policy, who—in carrying out these tasks—is supported by the Department of Aid Programs within the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy. The Scientific Research and Innovation Program, on the other hand, has two operators. For applied research, it is the National Center for Research and Development, and for basic research, it is the Swiss National Science Foundation.

The implementation (eligibility of expenditures) of the second edition of the Swiss-Polish Cooperation Program will conclude in March 2029.

A website run by the Municipality of Kędzierzyn-Koźle, which is implementing a project co-financed by the Swiss Funds, which support the reduction of economic and social disparities within the European Union, and by the state budget.