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The table shows that the projects submitted exclusively concern the road and rail
sectors, with 20% more road than rail submissions. Actual grants until 2001, however,
displayed a more even modal distribution. So far, the granting of Polish transport grants
seems to have progressed rather closely according to the list submitted with the National
Strategy. Also, Commission officials commented on the comparatively high capacity of
the Polish counterparts to adequately manage and absorb the funds, a circumstance that
was not given for all the candidate countries.
8.4.3 Preliminary Conclusions: EU ISPA Grants for Poland (2000-2001)
In 2000, as part of its National ISPA Transport Strategy, Poland submitted a “List of
proposals of investment projects for ISPA co-financing” which contained 19 projects
totaling € 2742 million. Of this, € 1655 million were for road and € 1086 million for rail
projects. This total project volume was more than twice as high as Poland’s maximum
ISPA allowance of € 1344 million (i.e. the added yearly possible maximum of € 174
million from 2000-2006), so that the Commission still had significant leeway in
concentrating investments in particular modes or locales. Additionally, as noted above,
Commission officials had already made it clear to their Polish counterparts that they
believed all Polish ISPA projects should be located on Helsinki corridors. Within the
larger array of possible large-scale infrastructure projects that were then submitted as
eligible grants projects, responsible Commission officials further steered the prioritization
process towards a select number of projects located in Helsinki corridors, mostly those
close to the Western borders (Germany). The TINA exercise was decidedly not used as
an input for project prioritization in the Regional Policy Directorate. By the end of 2001,
projects in the amount of € 752 million had been approved by the ISPA Management