The schedule of the Open Days “is based on five theme areas: investments in businesses; innovation; sustainable development; public-private partnerships; management of the structural funds”. The Polish commissioner for regional policies, Danuta Hübner, highlights that “the importance and the prestige of this event can also be argued from the attendance of the president of the Executive Committee, José Manuel Barroso, and other commissioners, such as Figel, Kallas, Potocnik, Reding, Spidla and Wallström”. The earmarked sums of the budget for the period 2007-2013 in this EU area are “substantial”: “The 308 billion euros (35.7% of the whole EU budget) invested in cohesion plans will be available to support regional growth and to create more and better jobs”. The growth and employment strategy, also known as the Lisbon Strategy, “will be at the heart of this investment, the highest ever made by the EU. Over 80% of such sum will be given to the poorest regions of the EU, where the expected growth is 10%, which should lead to the creation of over 2.5 million jobs” in the next seven years.
