Abstract
Poland joined the European Union on 1 May 2004. By 2007, this had resulted in Poland being the greatest beneficiary of the European cohesion policy due to its low per capita GDP by purchasing power parity at the voivodeship level. The scale of European Structural and Investment Funds brought the possibility for a fundamental acceleration of socio-economic growth in Polish regions. The European Union gradually modified the directions of intervention under the framework of the European cohesion policy, initially orienting this activity principally towards cohesion, but from 2010 directing it mainly towards competitiveness. Of particular significance was the Europe 2020 strategy (2010). In Poland its arrangements were deferred until the signing of the Partnership Agreement for the period 2014-2020, which established extensive support for innovation, competitiveness and the R&D sector. In the final part of the paper, conclusions and recommendations for regional policy are elaborated.