Preamble
We, the representatives of local and regional governments, businesses, universities, social organizations, and residents of European regions bordering difficult and unstable neighbours, believe that the resilience of local communities is one of the foundational pillars of the security of the entire European Union. Therefore, we jointly present this declaration for the resilience of European border regions – the "Declaration of Europe's Eastern Border Regions".
The consolidation of our efforts gained momentum in June 2025 during the international High-Level Conference in Białowieża, attended by the Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Raffaele Fitto, where it was unequivocally stated that the stability of all of Europe depends on the resilience of the communities living on its borders. The Podlaskie Voivodeship emerged as a leader in these efforts, organizing the EU Cohesion and Border Development Forum in October 2025, which called upon the European Commission to take concrete actions, while also demonstrating exceptional engagement in the public consultations on EU policies.
A milestone in our endeavours was the publication of the European Commission's landmark communication in February 2026, entitled "Strong Regions for a Secure Europe". This document confirmed that geopolitical pressure, migration crises, and hybrid threats require extraordinary tools. The objective is not ad hoc intervention, but sustainable and long-term security.
The second edition of the EU Cohesion and Border Development Forum in Białystok marks the next stage of this journey and provides a tangible platform for integrating our demands. We cannot stop at political declarations. For the European Commission's political will to become a shield protecting our homelands, the financial frameworks and legal regulations of the European Union must permanently address these key challenges.
By signing this declaration, I believe that:
- Europe's security begins in its regions.
- Residents of border regions deserve equal opportunities for development.
- Social resilience is as important as military security.
- Strong regions build a strong Europe.
1. Dedicated legal and financial status for the EU’s eastern flank
● Although the draft EU financial regulations for 2028–2034 identify eastern border regions with a distinct territorial code (03), they lack real support mechanisms. We call for granting these areas a special developmental and security status (analogous to outermost or mountainous regions) and introducing unambiguous provisions guaranteeing: additional funds in the allocation algorithm, higher project co-financing rates, reduced thematic concentration, increased state aid/de minimis limits, and a dedicated EU financial initiative.
● We consider it vital to broadly establish a new specific objective for eastern border regions, modelled on the "just transition" specific objective from the 2021-2027 financial perspective. We welcome the establishment of the new specific objective of "more resilient regions bordering Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine" in the Interreg regulation, but we consider this approach to be far too narrow. We demand that the specific objective of "more resilient regions bordering Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine" be primarily anchored in the Common Provisions Regulation (CPR) for 2028-2034 covering nine funds (ERDF, ESF+, CF, EAFRD, EAGF, EMFAF, AMIF, BMVI, and ISF), which will contribute to a multidimensional (not solely cross-border) response to the unique challenges of eastern border regions. We emphasize the impact of investments financed by the ERDF, Cohesion Fund, and ESF+, recognizing them as indispensable for regional and local territorial development. New solutions must not diminish or restrict the role of the ERDF, CF, and ESF+, especially in supporting the development of eastern border regions facing the dual challenge of enhancing security while simultaneously supporting the economy of less developed regions and their residents.
● We appeal for the provision of adequate conditions and financial incentives, including a special pool of funds earmarked for eastern border regions - not only within cohesion policy implementation instruments like national and regional partnership agreements or the Interreg plan, but also within other horizontal and sectoral policy instruments, such as the Common Agricultural Policy, the European Competitiveness Fund, and the Connecting Europe Facility. We emphasize that this support should primarily take the form of grants and complement funds available under cohesion policy.
● In this context, dedicated financial resources must also be allocated to eastern border regions to support their economic development and promote resilience. We call for the creation of dedicated grant instruments for SMEs and large enterprises affected by the loss of eastern markets. The goal is to mitigate higher investment risks to attract investors or, at the very least, retain existing investments in these areas.
● We highlight that eastern border regions face a competitive disadvantage when applying for centrally managed EU programs. Therefore, we demand that this situation be addressed through dedicated calls for proposals, higher co-financing rates, targeted technical assistance, and other solutions facilitating the participation of these regions in EU instruments.
2. Dual-use infrastructure serving citizens and security
● Investments in logistics and mobility: we recommend the prioritized implementation of investments in eastern border regions and preferential financing rules from instruments such as the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for road, rail, and airport projects with dual-use potential. The lack of preferential treatment for transport corridors like Via Baltica, Via Carpatia, and Rail Baltica in border regions risks creating a critical bottleneck on the EU's north-eastern cross-border axis. Simultaneously, we appeal to leverage the potential of transport and logistics accessibility - given their location at the intersection of key TEN-T corridors: North Sea–Baltic and the newly designated Baltic Sea–Black Sea–Aegean Sea. Without active policies, these regions may become mere "transit corridors" where goods and capital flow through without leaving local added value.
● We point out that actions aimed at strengthening the security of eastern border regions, including the development of military mobility, are of fundamental importance to the stability of all of Europe. However, we note that current dual-use (civil-military) investments are concentrated mainly in centres with developed industrial and innovative capacities. The lack of a territorially tailored approach risks deepening inequalities and concentrating capital instead of achieving real cohesion.
● Expansion of the investment scope: we emphasize that spending on eastern border security cannot be reduced solely to military bases. We appeal for the expansion of dual-use investments into areas critical to local communities, including healthcare and education, local transport infrastructure, and logistics, to prevent border regions from depopulation and economic marginalization. It is necessary to expand the categories of healthcare investments, including hospitals, emergency medical services, and telemedicine, bearing in mind that this infrastructure serves both civilian health functions and supports defence and civil protection during armed conflicts. Expenditures must simultaneously strengthen local and regional road and rail infrastructure, connecting areas threatened by permanent exclusion and depopulation with TEN-T corridors, to ensure territorial cohesion, resilience, and regional competitiveness.
● Synergy of security and economy: defence and military investments must benefit local markets by generating stable jobs and integrating local SMEs and large enterprises into regional supply chains. Investments that shorten supply chains and utilize strategic border locations (e.g., transhipment centres, logistics hubs, dry ports) should be promoted to attract technological capital. It is essential to prepare conditions for the gradual rebuilding of cross-border economic and logistics ties - particularly regarding the flow of goods, trade cooperation, and the use of transport and transhipment infrastructure - should the geopolitical situation stabilize and border traffic resume. These actions should encompass readiness to reutilize the regions' position as the eastern gateway of the European Union.
● Support for rescue hubs: EU financing must cover the modernization of regional airports (including those without official airport status) and crisis management centres protecting the civilian population.
3. Safeguarding the right of residents to remain in their regions
● Protection of the right to live in one's region: in the face of a drastic population decline, we jointly propose launching an EU initiative to improve the demographic situation.
● Programs for the youth: we advocate for the implementation of first-home purchase facilitation programs to increase the attractiveness of living in border regions.
● Strengthening and protecting human capital: we expect funds for creating high-quality jobs, developing healthcare, and supporting psychological services for communities living under constant geopolitical pressure.
4. European digital and energy security shield
● Building comprehensive local government resilience: financing must be secured to protect local governments against cyberattacks, disinformation, and hybrid threats.
● Universal connectivity: We request the elimination of telecommunication blind spots through full financial support for 100% fibre-optic and 5G network coverage for municipalities in EU border regions.
● Energy independence: we expect dedicated support for decentralized RES (Renewable Energy Sources) energy production, the construction of energy storage facilities, and ensuring self-sufficiency for hospitals and critical infrastructure.
● Energy transition, district heating development, and grid resilience as prerequisites for economic development and territorial security: ensuring universal access to stable, secure, and - most importantly - green and affordable energy is a key argument for attracting investments. It is necessary to secure and utilize the unique potential resulting from strategic interconnectors - both electricity and gas (including Harmony Link, Nordic-Baltic Hydrogen Corridor). To ensure border regions are not merely "transmission belts" for energy between countries, but real beneficiaries of these major investments, capturing a direct developmental impulse for competitiveness and opening up to advanced industry, a series of coordinated actions must be undertaken. These should include in particular: building local power output points and industrial connections along transmission mains; supporting the development of local RES and energy storage; facilitating the creation of energy clusters and cooperatives; providing funds for the modernization of low and medium voltage distribution networks, which is a prerequisite for accommodating new energy and preventing the energy exclusion of border regions; adapting infrastructure to the hydrogen economy, with particular emphasis on the potential use of alternative fuels in local industry, district heating, and public transport; and conducting a large-scale transformation of thermal energy and modernization of district heating systems. Concurrent support for the expansion of gas, sewage infrastructure, water reserves, and water resource security is crucial, especially in areas struggling with extreme network underdevelopment, to further equalize infrastructural accessibility.
5. New frameworks for territorial cooperation and compensation
● Compensation for severed ties: due to the suspension of cooperation programs with Russia and Belarus, we expect a new and adequate compensatory instrument for affected local governments.
● A new direction for Interreg: we support the flexible use of European Territorial Cooperation to build a cross-border cooperation network along the North-South axis within the EU, as well as with partners from Ukraine and Moldova.
● Dedicated Investment Facility for Eastern Border Regions – EastInvest: we advocate for the creation by the European Union of a dedicated financial mechanism supporting investments by local governments and enterprises in regions bearing particular geopolitical costs. The instrument, utilizing guarantee mechanisms among other tools, should reduce investment risk, lower the cost of access to capital, and mobilize public and private funds for investments strengthening regional development and resilience, including infrastructure and dual-use projects. We expect this mechanism to secure a permanent place in the EU financial architecture post-2027 and possess a financing scale corresponding to the actual needs of the eastern flank regions.
6. Crisis-resilient economy and state aid modernisation
● Equalizing market opportunities: dedicated, increased state aid on the EU's eastern flank must not be treated as a distortion of competition, but as a permanent compensation for lost eastern markets and the inherently unstable complex neighbourhood (regardless of the current state of relations with neighbouring countries).
● Revision of financial limits: we call for a permanent and immediate increase in de minimis aid limits for eastern border regions and for making the General Block Exemption Regulation more flexible.
● An impulse for investors: we recommend creating a transnational network of Special Economic Zones offering tax incentives and simplified administrative procedures.
7. Fair rules for regions bearing the highest geopolitical costs
● Introduction of a permanent preferential mechanism: we advocate for embedding mandatory geopolitical criteria into EU fund regulations, binding in the allocation algorithms both at the Member State allocation level and in internal distributions within Member States.
● Increased financial dimension: we expect higher allocations and an increase in project co-financing rates to 85–95% for regions in complex neighbourhoods.
● Flexibility of expenditures: we call for lowering thematic concentration limits so that regions in complex neighbourhoods can freely invest in basic infrastructure and respond to crises.
