The Carpathian Initiative (C8), launched at Ukraine's initiative, has significant potential for developing economic, energy and security cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe and could evolve into a broader macroregional platform of the European Union, Oleksiy Buriachenko, president of the International Institute for Security Studies, said.
"This is not simply a political initiative of Ukraine. It is a joint initiative with the European Union that gives Ukraine an opportunity to integrate into the European space already now, while allowing the EU to extend its influence beyond its own borders," Buriachenko said during a discussion at the Interfax-Ukraine press center on "Carpathian Initiative (C8): From Regional Cooperation to a New Role for Ukraine in Europe" on Friday.
According to him, an important element of the summit was promoting the idea of creating an EU macroregional strategy for the Carpathian region.
In the expert's view, the C8 format is open-ended and could eventually be expanded to include other states, in particular countries of the Black Sea region and the South Caucasus. "It could become not only a Carpathian but also an interregional initiative bringing countries together around common infrastructure, economic and security projects," he said.
Buriachenko also drew attention to the security potential of the Carpathian region amid Russian aggression. "The Carpathian region could become an important element of European energy and defense security. This concerns both the development of energy infrastructure and opportunities to implement joint projects in the defense industry," the expert said, noting the prospects for using the C8 format to strengthen coordination among Ukraine, EU countries, NATO and the United States on regional security issues.
"Ukraine can strengthen itself through such constructive interregional projects. The potential of this initiative is much broader than its current format, and it is important that it undergo further institutional and geographic development," Buriachenko concluded.
