Key information about the programme
- The programme is operated by: The Ministry of the Interior and Administration with support from the European Project Implementation Centre
- The Donor Programme Partners in this programme are: the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security and Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection (DSB)
- The programme’s objective is: Strengthened rule of law
- The programme funding amounts to € 20,000,000 (excluding co-financing) and is funded entirely by the Norway Grants.
Why is the programme needed?
The Polish Home Affairs sector faces numerous challenges related to asylum and migration, police cooperation, disaster prevention and human trafficking. Within the field of migration and asylum, these challenges include lacking information for asylum seekers and migrants, lacking coordination of activities and support between relevant entities, protection of vulnerable groups and inadequate psychological and educational support for asylum seekers. Additionally, the relevant authorities do not possess enough knowledge and capacity.
Cross-border crime affects the economy and threatens public safety. The eastern region of Europe has seen an expansion of criminal activity in recent years resulting in an increase of trafficking, illegal migration, proliferation of routes for illicit commodities and economic and financial crimes. Poland ranks fifth among European countries when it comes to the number of citizens being victims of human trafficking – which suggest that assistance to Poland is needed in this area. Over half of the victims of human trafficking are migrants, therefore new types of actions and services addressing the problem from this perspective is desirable.
Within the field of police cooperation there are some issues connected to information flows with outside partners and services as well as with international entities that should be improved. It is crucial to have a good international police cooperation to strengthen the state's capacity to combat organised crime and the new forms of crime. The Polish police force would benefit from enhancing knowledge and capacity to deal with crimes such as forgery, counterfeit, extortions and cybercrimes.
Man-made and natural disasters are increasing as a result of the effects of climate change, rapid urbanization, demographic pressure and more intensive use of land. Ensuring efficient strategies for regional and national preparedness and emergency planning is a priority for national authorities. The Polish entities dealing with disaster prevention and preparedness are facing both financial and organisational challenges as well as gaps in coordination and lack of equipment. Training of public administration and local government is also much needed, especially in the areas of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear and explosives.
What will the programme achieve and who are the beneficiaries?
The Norway grants Home Affairs programme will provide support to improve the capacity of the Polish asylum and migration system. One project will focus specifically on unaccompanied minor asylum seekers, while the other projects will focus on providing the necessary psychological assistance, legal assistance and information to migrants and asylum seekers. The programme will also aim at training staff and support cooperation between public and private entities, NGOs and bilateral and international cooperation.
The programme will also aim to improve crime prevention and investigation by the police in Poland through enhancing their capacity to address serious crimes such as cybercrime, document forgery, human trafficking and cooperation on border controls. The Norwegian police (Norwegian Police University College and Norwegian Crime Investigation Service – Kripos and the Norwegian ID Centre – NID) will contribute as project partners. Support will be provided for training schemes and provision of equipment. The programme will lastly strengthen prevention and preparedness to chemical, radiological, biological, nuclear and explosive hazards in Poland through a coordination project.
How will the programme strengthen bilateral relations?
All the cross-border challenges addressed in the Home Affairs programme generates a need for closer international cooperation. The Norway grants Home Affairs programme has a strong bilateral dimension with two Norwegian donor programme partners playing an important role in both the preparation and implementation of the programme. Strengthened bilateral cooperation will be ensured by sharing good practices and joint participation in training events and exercises.
Thanks to this programme, we expect that:
- 400 unaccompanied minor asylum-seekers will receive services
- 1, 000 staff will be trained
- 10 training courses will be co-organised by Norway and Poland
- 5 projects will involve cooperation between Norway and Poland
Availability of funding through open calls
The funding in this programme will be made available through the following open calls:
- Call 1: 'Improved capacity of law enforcement services to prevent and detect organised crime' will be published in third quarter of 2019
- Call 2: 'Increased capacity in the area of asylum and migration' will be published in the first quarter of 2020.
Download the full programme agreement for more detailed information about the programme.
More information can also be found on the website of the Norway Grants in Poland.