The research carried out describes the provision of COVID-19 funding in individual EU Member States under the ongoing operational programmes of the EU financial perspective in the period 2014–2020. This was followed by identification of the most important areas of support and the amounts allocated to them for Poland and its sixteen voivodeships under the available EU funds from the 2014–2020 perspective. Types and forms of support for health services from the funds of the Regional Operational Programme for the Opolskie Voivodeship 2014–2020 (ROP WO) were analysed in detail. The obtained results showed that Italy, Spain, and Poland provided the largest values of support under the available operational programmes from 2014–2020 to combat the effects of COVID-19. In Poland, funding was mainly provided by the European Regional Development Fund, with the dominant support allocated to entrepreneurship and health care. In the Opolskie voivodeship, which is the case study, the additional financing in the health area concerns: personal protective equipment, equipment, construction works, oxygen installations, and waste water management. In this article, a literature analysis of the issue was conducted prior to the research process, which included theories of post-2007 crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic. The focus is on the theoretical background and research showing the impact of crises from the point of view of social, economic, and ecological dimensions, i.e., from the point of view of sustainable development. It also presents planned and implemented public intervention to offset the negative effects of COVID-19 in 2020 from structural funds in EU countries, including Poland and its 16 voivodeships.

The aim of this research is to analyse the correlation between public intervention in Poland within the Regional Operational Programmes and the key macroeconomic variables for the sustainable development of regions, i.e., the labour market, with particular emphasis on the unemployment rate and the level of employment; the average monthly remuneration; the residential construction market, with particular emphasis on the number of permits issued for the construction of apartments and the number of apartments under construction. The research and the analyses carried out on the basis of the above-mentioned aspects made it possible to indicate the relations between the studied macroeconomic indicators and the EU funds spending in Polish provinces, which will enable the implementation of the sustainable development policy. The capitals used in the research process are very important components of the region’s and country’s sustainable development. In the research, a calculation methodology was applied based on the analysis of time variability of the examined determinants, their correlation and regression relationships. The tools and methods of data analysis used allowed the quantification of the relationship between the macroeconomic determinants studied and the pace and value of payments made. The conducted analyses have shown a positive influence of the payments made in Poland within the framework of Regional Operational Programmes on selected macroeconomic indicators, i.e., regional economic and social-institutional capitals. The research results obtained may have a practical decision-making aspect for regional and national authorities responsible for the disbursement of EU funds.

Effective acquisition of funds, including European Union (EU) funds, designated for example, creating economic and social processes, may have a real impact on the elimination of the negative outcomes of the current position of the EU on the global scale. The aim of the research is to indicate the impact of spending funds from the Regional Operational Program of the Opolskie Voivodeship 2014–2020 (ROP OV) on a key macroeconomic area of the economy, i.e., the housing development sector in the region. The practical aim is to formulate recommendations and solutions that can offer guidelines for more effective spending of EU funds and their effect on the macroeconomic dimensions of the economy. The article proposes an innovative approach to linking EU payments in the region with the real estate market. The results of the research and the analyses made on this basis showed a positive impact of the payments made from the ROP OV on selected macroeconomic indicators, i.e., the number of permits issued for the construction of new apartments and the number of currently implemented housing investments. The obtained results should be used in the decision-making process at the level of regional and national authorities responsible for the payment of EU funds. In this article, prior to the research process, a literature review was made. It covered various aspects of the evolution and development of research in the area of regional development. The research process was based on innovative methods of time variability analysis, correlation between the investigated determinants and coherence analysis for the studied dimensions. Data on payments from the ROP OV concern the years 2015–2020.