Participants in the Carpathian Integration Initiative summit – heads of state and government and representatives from Austria, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Ukraine – declared their readiness to establish the Carpathian Integration Initiative as a platform for coordinating joint actions by states, their regions and local communities, European Union institutions, and other international partners, aimed at deepening European integration.
This is stated in the declaration of the Carpathian Integration Initiative summit, the text of which was published on the website of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday evening.
"To direct joint efforts within the framework of the Carpathian Integration Initiative towards strengthening good-neighbourly relations, cross-border cooperation, economic interconnectivity, security and sustainable development in the Carpathian region as part of the shared European area; to promote the implementation of the Carpathian Integration Initiative as one of the tools supporting candidate countries in implementing the EU acquis and their participation in gradual integration," the declaration states.
The document also provides for the use of existing EU instruments for cross-border and regional cooperation, in particular the Interreg and Interreg NEXT programs, as well as support for the conclusion by the regions participating in the Carpathian Integration Initiative of new interregional partnership and cooperation agreements, notably through the use of the European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) instrument.
"To enhance the energy resilience of the participating countries through the coordinated development of electricity, heating and gas infrastructure, considering the active introduction of distributed generation, renewable energy sources, energy efficiency and energy storage; to facilitate the recovery and modernisation of critical infrastructure, based on the principles of resilience, security and adaptability to long-term threats, in particular by attracting investment to develop energy facilities, and to develop new generation capacity, energy storage facilities and grid infrastructure," the declaration states.
It is envisaged that the development goals of the Carpathian macroregion will be aligned with key EU initiatives in the field of sustainable development, with particular attention paid to the implementation of the Framework Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians, as well as the protection of the Carpathians' biodiversity and the preservation of cultural landscapes reflecting the traditional way of life of mountain communities.
"to support the creation of a safe environment at local level by developing an effective civil protection system and enhancing the preparedness of local communities to respond to emergencies; to facilitate the implementation of joint infrastructure projects aimed at integrating the transport and logistics infrastructure of the Carpathian region into the European transport network, modernising border infrastructure and developing modern transport corridors; to promote tourism opportunities in the Carpathian region," the document reads.
The declaration also calls for encouraging the exchange of experience and best practices among countries in the region regarding veterans' policy and support, as well as deepening cooperation to facilitate the social, professional, and civic reintegration of Ukrainian veterans.
Cooperation between the states of the Carpathian region, European Union institutions, and other interested partners at various levels will be facilitated within the framework of the Carpathian Integration Initiative through annual summits and other events organized under this initiative.
"We are convinced that the successful implementation of the Carpathian Integration Initiative will strengthen the stability and resilience of the countries in the region and become an important additional contribution to joint efforts to ensure lasting peace on the European continent," the declaration concludes.
As previously reported, the first inaugural summit of the Carpathian Eight Summit is taking place at the Bukovel ski resort in the Ivano-Frankivsk region on Friday.
