Distance Difficult to Overcome? Analysis of Norwegian and Polish Position on the Path to Sustainable Development

Sustainable development is undoubtedly the key challenge of the contemporary world. On the way to this development Poland if far behind the other countries, especially Norway, which seems to be an unquestionable leader in this respect in Europe. There is a distance between Norway and Poland in all ten dimensions (themes) described in the EU Sustainable Development Strategy (socio-economic development, sustainable consumption and production, social inclusion, demographic changes, public health, climate change and energy, sustainable transport, natural resources, global partnership and good governance). Unfortunately it is not likely that the distance could be significantly reduced in the coming years. Poland must accept that fact and simultaneously learn from the leader and take advantage of its experience, but can also benefit from financial support, which is possible to obtain from the EEA and Norway Grants – the funds provided to particular programs aimed at reducing economic and social disparities and strengthening bilateral relations between Norway and Poland.