The European Commission has adopted a strategy to enhance support for the eastern regions of the EU bordering Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, which have been affected by hybrid warfare, migration attacks, economic and trade disruptions, as well as population decline.
Such regions are located in nine EU member states: Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. Due to the deteriorating economic conditions and security situation caused by the ongoing war, these regions require additional support.
Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms, Raffaele Fitto, stated that the eastern regions are not only on the borders of states but also on the borders of Europe. "Today's announcement was developed in collaboration with the regions and their communities to ensure they remain viable and competitive places for work and growth. Strengthening the eastern border areas is a strategic investment in European security, stability, cohesion, and competitiveness."
The strategy includes five priority areas and sub-goals.
Security and resilience: developing monitoring on the eastern flank, the European initiative for drone protection, the European Air Shield, and the European Space Shield; creating a network of practitioners to enhance readiness and facilitate cross-border cooperation of resilience clusters.
Economic growth and regional well-being: simplifying access to financing by bringing together the European Investment Bank group, other international financial institutions, as well as national and regional development banks; cooperating with the World Bank under the Catching-up Regions initiative to promote economic development in the most affected regions.
Local strengths: prioritizing the integration of the Baltic countries' electricity grids with European networks and developing cross-border hydrogen infrastructure, such as the North Baltic Hydrogen Corridor;
supporting initiatives in the circular economy, including industrial symbiosis projects and regional bioeconomy centers.
Connectivity: promoting digital connectivity and modernizing transport networks, including dual-use roads, railway and port infrastructure, as well as cross-border connections with Ukraine and Moldova.
People: closer alignment of education and employment to reduce population decline and labor shortages, as well as strengthening communities by enhancing media literacy and awareness of disinformation.
The Commission will also initiate an annual high-level political dialogue to facilitate discussions on EU actions and their impact on the resilience and development of regions bordering Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine.
The first such event will take place on February 26, when financial institutions will sign a declaration to launch the EastInvest fund. The proposals for the next EU budget (2028–2034) include funds specifically to support the eastern border regions based on national and regional partnership plans.
