The European region as a form of territorial division of the European Union

The aspirations to develop cooperation within the European Union with partners at the regional level result from the considerable diversification of national legal systems and procedures and the resulting significant difficulties in the conduct and management of cooperation activities. An impulse to deepen the role of the region was the implementation of Structural Fund programs. Voivodships as regions are candidates for the role of the third participant of the EU agreement creating a new three-level system: the community – the state – the region. To participate in this role they must actively work to strengthen their position on the European forum, in particular in the bodies where are creating regional policy. An opportunity for the regions is the development of the European Union’s regional policy, the aim of which is to reduce the differences in local development and eliminate areas of poverty and backwardness. The article presents legal aspects related to the definition of “the region” under Polish law. It also presents the advantages of the Polish voivodship at the EU forum and possible forms of impact on the implemented EU policy.