Organised by the Ministry of Infrastructure, a High Level Meeting on the financing of strategic transport projects was held in Krakow. In a ministerial panel discussion, representatives from Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, as well as representatives from the General Staff of the Polish Army and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, discussed the opportunities and challenges facing the financing of the European Union’s strategic transport infrastructure.

The Russian aggression in Ukraine has created an urgent need to redefine supply chains on the continent to be resilient to international crises, especially on NATO’s eastern flank. It has also shown the importance of adapting the transport infrastructure of member states to defence challenges as well.

The head of Poland’s infrastructure ministry, Andrzej Adamczyk, pointed to the need for additional EU financial support for military mobility, to implement strategic infrastructure projects that adapt EU transport corridors, logistics hubs and infrastructure to accommodate large-scale military deployments. He stressed that issues of border and transport infrastructure development, including the protection of external borders, remain key for the Polish government.

‘The implementation of transport investments, regardless of the sector, are long-term activities and financially challenging’, emphasised the Minister of Infrastructure. Each Member State already has its own long-term experience in the process of financing transport investments from EU funds. Discussing Polish investments carried out with the participation of EU funds, Minister Adamczyk pointed out that Poland is an experienced and efficient beneficiary of EU funds. He gave as examples sections of the Via Carpatia and Via Baltica routes, which form the road spine of the north-south axis of our region of Europe.

Adrian Andrzejewski