On 1st December a two-days-long international conference commenced in the “Wieliczka Salt Mine” entitled “Taking care of the green future – the European Union Funds in the Environment sector”. The event’s organizer is the Ministry of Environment.

Among the invited guests one can find Janusz Mikuła – the undersecretary of the State in the Ministry of the Regional Development and Marek Nawara –the Małopolska region marshall.Wieliczka is represented by the Mayor – Artur Kozioł and the plenipotentiary in the area of investment – Józef Lassota.

The conference is addressed to the beneficiaries of the Infrastructure and the Environment Programme.

During the ceremonial opening of the event there was a speech by Stanisław Gawłowski – the secretary of the State in the Ministry of Environment. The topic of the Coherence Fund was presented by Alice Talbot from the Ministry of Environment, Heritage and the Self-Government of the Republic of Ireland.

Inesis Kiskis, the undersecretary of the State from the Lithuanian Republic’s Ministry of Environment, spoke about the environment-addressed European Union funds, experiences and challenges related to them.

Speeches were also made by: Katre Eljas-Taal (The Ministry of Environment - the Estonian Republic),Martina Makai (the Ministry of Environment and the Water Resources – The Hungarian Republic), Radoslav Liptak (The Ministry of Environment – The Slovak Republic), Aivita Zavadska (The Ministry of Environment – The Latvian Republic).

The conference’s aim is the exchange of experiences of the European Union countries in the field of implementation of the environmental projects financed from the Coherence Fund.