On 18^th December 2024, the Managing Authority of the Programme (Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy) submitted the first request for payment under our Programme to the European Commission. The application covered the expenses of the Polish project partners to the amount of over EUR 890,000, of which EU funding amounted to EUR 775,000.

Before submitting the request, all expenditure was checked by the relevant national Controllers, and then approved by the staff of the Joint Secretariat. Thanks to joint efforts and close cooperation between project partners and institutions, the documentation was prepared efficiently and in accordance with the requirements of the Programme.

The first request for payment is a sign that among the projects financed by the Programme, there are some which have actively started implementation. The funds which the European Commission will disburse on the basis of the request for payment will feed into the Programme and will be transferred to the project partners in the form of further advance payments, so it is crucial that the funds are disbursed to the projects and reported as soon as possible. In this context, it is also extremely important for the Programme to start controlling the expenditure of Ukrainian project partners as soon as possible, which the Ukrainian National Authority in the Programme (Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine) is working on.