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Leaders and outliers in the race of regions- EU Cohesion Policy in Poland in the light of macroeconomic modelling The main aim of this paper is not simply to compare and contrast the impacts of EU cohesion policy on the three Polish NUTS-2 regions (Dolnośląskie, Mazowieckie and Świętokrzyskie), but also to confront them with the theoretical expectations. The analysis is carried out using such macroeconomic indicators as GDP per capita, employment, labour productivity and it focuses on the period 2004-2020 in order to capture both short- and long-term effects of the EU intervention. The research draws on the regional HERMIN macroeconomic models of Mazowieckie (HPL5MZ), Dolnośląskie (HPL5DL) and Świętokrzyskie (HPL5SW) which are regionalised versions of the Polish national HERMIN macroeconomic model (HPL5). The results of our analysis point to the role of EU cohesion policy in the process of socio-economic convergence both at the national and European level. However, they are presented from a perspective of the three Polish regions characterized by the different levels of socio-economic development in order to show how EU funds affect economic leaders and outliers of the country. On the basis of the conducted analysis several conclusions are drawn with regard to macroeconomic modelling at the regional level which might be used to improve robustness and credibility of the evaluation of EU cohesion policy