Processes of Regional Convergence in Poland in the Context of the Use of European Union Funds

The study evaluates the processes of regional income convergence in Poland. This problem is considered from the angle of the key development gaps separating the regions of Eastern Poland from other more economically developed regions of the country. The EU Structural Funds allocated significant resources in 2004-2014 to re-duce these gaps, including under the Operational Programme Development of Eastern Poland (OP DEP 2007-2013), specially designed for this purpose. It was shown that there has been significant progress in reducing de-velopment gaps during the period in question, including in relation to: expenditure on R&D in relation to GDP, economic activity of the population and the development of road infrastructure. Progress in this area would not be possible without the support of EU funds. Even though the scope and scale of positive changes prevented regional convergence, they contributed to inhibiting the processes of further income polarization between regions.