Dear friends, esteemed leaders,
Dear journalists,
Today, here in our Carpathians, we are holding the first meeting in such a format – the format of the Carpathian Initiative. C8 is a format that brings together all the countries of our Carpathian macro-region and our neighbors – all those Europeans in this part of the continent who respect the independence of nations, a united Europe, and our desire to live in peace and security. We already cooperate extensively on our defense. As you know, we work together in energy and on export and import routes – this is very important. Logistics is one of our key priorities, especially during the war. We also work together on humanitarian issues, in supporting people and communities, and in our cooperation at the European Union level. And it is entirely logical and right that we are taking this to another level – I would say, to a stronger level of joint work and coordination. Today, we also have a joint document confirming our readiness to work in exactly this way – the participants of the meeting have agreed on the Declaration.
Europe has traditionally had formats for this kind of cooperation at the macro-regional level. There is work within, in particular, the Danube macro-region and the Baltic macro-region – and this can genuinely be complemented by cooperation within the new format of the Carpathian macro-region, which connects all of us: Romania, Poland, our neighbors here – Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary – as well as Serbia and Austria. In other words, these are our links, so to speak – links through the Carpathians with many countries in Central and South-Eastern Europe. I want to thank you, friends, for being here with us today in Huta, in the Ivano-Frankivsk region. Every such visit to Ukraine, your participation in these joint meetings, initiatives, and projects, is always about supporting our state, first and foremost our people, and supporting Europe as a whole – especially at a time like this, a time of war. Not so long ago, the Carpathians were seen exclusively as a place of beauty – natural beauty and power, cultural strength. A place of great history – history that had already been made. Now, in a time of Russian aggression, everything is changing dramatically. The Carpathian macro-region has become one of the most reliable foundations of our defense. So this is about strength that exists today and will remain in the future. The Carpathian macro-region has seen a completely different pace of industrial development, there is far more substantial logistics activity, and energy connections have become far more important than before. The Carpathians are now a source of strength in every sense of the word. And that is why we have a new format. That is why we have new prospects. And, importantly, this is not just about dialogue – it is about new agreements.
Today, we launched the initiative at the level of leaders and at the state level. But here with us today are also representatives of our regions, many local communities from our countries, and our business communities. The second part of the Carpathian Initiative – the second, economic part of this Summit – later today will bring significant financial and investment agreements. Around 550 business representatives from all our countries will be here. Investment and trade agreements worth €1 billion have been prepared – and this is a good start. They cover energy, logistics and infrastructure, as well as cross-sectoral agreements – and there will be more. Today alone, nearly 100 business projects from all eight Carpathian countries will be presented here, with a total value of almost €40 billion. These are projects that can genuinely benefit our countries and our shared Carpathians. We expect that over the next few years, economic growth here in the Carpathian macro-region could be twice as fast as the EU average. A Youth Forum will also take place. Its participants represent all Carpathian countries. We will work to develop a dedicated Carpathian macro-strategy at the European Union level. This would make it possible to attract more European funding to support Carpathian countries and communities. It is important that the European Union’s policies aimed at fostering cohesion in Europe and providing tangible support to regions and communities always receive the necessary attention and resources.
Of course, now and over the coming years, much attention will be focused on security – this is a priority, and, of course, we feel that very acutely – as well as on our cross-border cooperation, logistics, and trade. We are already genuinely supporting one another, and I want to thank our partners and friends. Our routes are working, our countries are working, and our ports are very important, our railways are very important, our roads are very important. All of this must keep functioning. Especially when, because of this war, Russia is blocking the Black Sea and is also trying to block logistics between us. We discussed this among ourselves – with Poland, Romania, and Moldova. So, as I said, security and logistics are, in essence, shared issues for us today and, without question, shared challenges.
There are also several projects that will ensure energy security for all of us. We will certainly bring in additional resources and additional investment. These are not plans for some distant future – these are things we need to do now. And that is why I am very glad that, as they say, there is an outcome from this Summit. The second part, the economic part, will open this evening, and tomorrow businesses, regions, and communities will work directly with one another.
Once again, I am very grateful to our partners. I very much hope that we will continue this initiative.
Glory to Ukraine!
