agriculture Article Technical Infrastructure as an Element of Sustainable Development of Rural Regions in Małopolskie Voivodeship in Poland and Trnava Region in Slovakia Marcin Surówka 1 , Łukasz Popławski 2 and Helena Fidlerová 3,* 1 Department of Business Finances, The Cracow University of Economics in Cracow, UE Rakowicka 27, 31-510 Crakow, Poland;
[email protected] 2 Department of Public Finances, The Cracow University of Economics in Cracow, UE Rakowicka 27, 31-510 Crakow, Poland;
[email protected] 3 Faculty of Materials Science and Technology in Trnava, Institute of Industrial Engineering and Management, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Jana Bottu 25, 917 01 Bratislava, Slovakia * Correspondence: helena.fi
[email protected] Abstract: The work discusses issues of the infrastructure, its instruments, and specifics of infras- tructure in Polish and Slovak rural areas. The aim of this article is to analyze the level of technical infrastructure development in rural regions of the Małopolskie Voivodeship in Poland and the west part of Slovakia—Trnava self-governing region (Trnava region) as two regions with a similar position regarding regional competitiveness index. Following the topic, after identification of strengths and weaknesses of mentioned regions, the opportunities, and threats of sustainable development of infrastructure in rural areas have been analyzed using the SWOT method. The development of sustainable, reliable, and functional infrastructure does not only refer to the chosen regions of Poland Citation: Surówka, M.; Popławski, and Slovakia but also other regions in the European Union. Sustainable infrastructure is a factor Ł.; Fidlerová, H. Technical stimulating social and economic progress as one of the most important determinants of sustainable Infrastructure as an Element of development and regional competitiveness.