Finansowe instrumenty wspierania rozwoju regionalnego (na przykładzie województwa podlaskiego)

The scope and variety of the industrialisation processes occurring in Europe have a regional dimension and are closely related to the economic potential of particular regions. Industrial regions have greater economic potentials than agricultural ones. Certain development opportunities might be provided by the regionalisation and decentralization taking place in the EU member states since the 1980s, as well as by reforms of common structural policy, with their focus on strengthening the role of regions in the European economy. The purpose of the paper is to analyse the financial aspects of the process and to address the question whether Polish regions possess adequate financial potential to actively engage in regional development. The author identifies the most important endogenous and exogenous sources of regional development funding, with particular attention to European Union resources.