Financial support from the European Union for communal infrastructure investments as a development factor of non-agricultural business activity in rural areas in Poland

Adam Wasilewski

Abstract: The European Union actively participates in the process of economic growth of various countries and regions. This participation is expressed i.a. in formulating the principles of the structural and regional policies, as well as the cohesion policy, within the framework of which a fairly wide range of instruments supporting the development of business activity is provided. The solutions adopted go in the direction of extending the time scale of impact of public funds. Supporting the development of business activity may therefore be implemented within the framework of various policies, defined on the basis of the method of approaching the problem, support fields, or type of instruments used for intervention. In any case, however, it is an influence on the part of the public sector on the production of private goods and services. The research conducted shows that supporting the development of infrastructure is one of many instruments used to indirectly influence economic development. The possibility of providing co-financing to communal infrastructure investments from EU funds bears great significance for the economic development of rural areas, due to the disproportions in infrastructure between those areas and urban areas, which still exist and are increasing.

Keywords: communes; economic development; EU funds; infrastructural investments; non-agricultural business activity; the development of rural areas; the EU

Date published: 2018-01-31