The specificity of applying the legal definition of a “beneficiary” for the purposes of implementing the cohesion policy in Poland

Abstract

The implementation of cohesion policy remains connected to the application of both EU and national rules. On their basis, public funds are transferred for the implementation of specific projects. The entity that obtains such a financial support is called the “beneficiary” of the funds granted. However, such status may be obtained only by selected entities that meet certain conditions clearly indicated in the legal provisions introduced by both the EU and national legislators. The provisions of the Act on the principles of implementation of programs introduced their own legal definition of a “beneficiary”, using in this respect a reference to specifically indicated provisions of the EU regulation. This, however, raised doubts as to the advisability of introducing references to these EU provisions in national regulations. The more so as the provisions of EU regulations may also directly grant certain subjective rights. The introduced legislative structure requires the use of specific legal definitions, which have an impact on the scope of application and interpretation of the applicable provisions. In practice, it was possible to modify the solutions for financing the cohesion policy in the regulations adopted for the next programming period of the EU budget. The Polish legislator, however, copied the earlier legal structure. As a result, the observations made earlier remain still current.