EU Millions
in Grodzisk Mazowiecki

- Poland has been a member of the European Union for two years now. How has Grodzisk Mazowiecki benefited from that?
- At this time, we have obtained considerable subsidies for investments, mainly from the Cohesion Fund. The largest success of this period has been raising more than 11 million euros in co-financing for the construction of sewerage and water supply system and the modernization of sewage treatment and water purification plant. Another sizable co-financing, which exceeds 9 million zlotys and has been acquired for the construction of a Culture Center, which will solve the problem of the lacking center, which has been needed for years. In addition, we will earmark over 2 million zlotys from the European funds for the construction of infrastructure in the industrial zone in order to create conditions for placing investments here. We also have considerable achievements in our work with youth, as thanks to EU subsidies, we could assign one million zlotys for activities of community centers, and for talks and lectures aimed at prevention of addictions and delinquency among the minors. We have also used 200,000 zlotys in subsidies for the organization of English language and computer skills courses for adults. Thanks to Poland's accession to the Union, we have greater opportunities for contacts with other European municipalities. Grodzisk has intensively cooperated with three municipalities in Austria, Belgium and Sweden. As a result, our youth benefits from exchanges with Austria and Belgium.

- How does the municipality attract foreign investors? What can you offer to them?
- First of all, we prepare sites for investments. We have appointed a special office, which deals with investor service exclusively. We train future employees; for example, at present we stage English language course for 150 people. We are commencing a large undertaking related with the construction of A2 motorway, whose exit will be situated in our municipality. We want to use this opportunity to establish a Special Industrial Zone there. Already two such zones operate in the municipality and work at full swing. 14 large foreign companies from different sectors operate there. We intend to welcome new ones. We concentrate mostly on production companies, which offer a lot of jobs.

- What has been the largest success of this term of office?
- Raising enormous assistance funds from the EU has been our major success. In the Municipality of Grodzisk Maz., the subsidies amount to PLN 1,600 per capita. Another great achievement has been the launching of major investments, such as the construction of sewerage network and Culture Center. We have also built tennis courts and stadium and a lot of roads. The Municipality has also participated in the repair of major transit roads, which are owned by the County. 
- What challenges do you intend to face in the years to come?
- The construction of beltways around Grodzisk and Milanówek, whose total length amounts to 20km will be the largest challenge. Although the construction will be conducted above the municipal level, the municipality is responsible for preparing grounds for the investment and this is our priority task. We also need to complete investments that are in progress, which will probably last about two years. We plan to build 2 new gymnasiums and a new school in the southern part of the municipality, in which a lot of new residents have settled. We also need more roads in order to improve local communication. We also face works related with the reclamation of downtown Grodzisk. We intend to give new life to the pedestrian area by the construction of new tenement houses in the place of old dilapidated ones. We intend to move their residents outside the downtown and for this reason we will need to build several council houses.
- What financing do you hope to obtain form EU funds in the near future?
- We have submitted applications for co-financing of 5 new projects. We hope to obtain 30 million zlotys (excluding the costs related with the construction of the beltway) for the construction of sports halls, repair of schools, construction of roads, and reclamation of downtown area. The construction of the Special Industrial Zone will cost almost 20 million zlotys, but in this case we will seek co-financing from other sources.

Danuta Marcinkowska