The conference, organised by the Polish Focal Point for the EEA Grants, attracted a large pool of participants from Polish and Norwegian ministries and universities, as well as several Polish EEA Grants beneficiaries.
The conference gave the participants an opportunity to share experiences in the area of regional policy. Representatives from the Polish Ministry of Regional Development presented the Polish experiences with the implementation of the EU structural Funds and the financial mechanisms.
Promotion of regional development and growth is an overreaching aim of the EEA Grants, and so far Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway have committed €2.2 million to Polish projects within the priority sector regional policy and cross-border activities. In addition, regional development plays a key role in several projects sorting under the other priority sectors. A full list of all supported activities can be found in the EEA Grants project database, which also enables searches for regional policy projects.
Malbork castle
The results of these projects are already visible, and the conference programme included a visit to an EEA Grants project taking place at the Malbork Castle, which became part of the the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage Register in 1997. The €2.6 million grant from Norway will pay for conservation works on some of the most valuable parts of the castle that contains masterpieces of medieval architecture, ensuring the completion of the conservation and construction works at the Grand Master's Residential Complex and the West Wing of the Malbork Castle. The restored parts will serve as additional expositions at the castle, giving visitors access to rooms which have so far been closed to the public.