CHARAKTERYSTYKA DEFINICJI LEGALNYCH „BENEFICJENTA” W RAMACH POLITYKI SPÓJNOŚCI

Abstract

The term ‘beneficiary’ used for the purposes of spending the EU aid funds was introduced into the Polish legal system before Poland became member of the European Union. Initially, the national legislator used this term only in the domestic regulations on the basis of which public funds were transferred. Over time, the legislator also introduced the definition of the beneficiary to national regulations adapted to the needs of the cohesion policy. It can be observed that the legislator, while initially providing own definitions of the beneficiary, recently has only referred to particular provisions of the directly applicable EU regulations. Obviously, national authorities must operate in an integrated legal system, in which there are many sources of binding law that define ‘beneficiaries of funds allocated to the implementation of the cohesion policy’. In this context, one can speak of the Europeanisation of national law with regard to the implemented policy.