The XXXIII "Europe of the Carpathians" conference, traditionally held under the auspices of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland - in cooperation with parliaments and institutions not only of the Carpathian countries, but also of Central Europe in the broadest sense - was convened in a special situation. Originally, it was to be held in Ukraine - in Yaremcz, in the Eastern Carpathians, close to Czarnohora, but the ongoing war has thwarted these plans. So we are meeting in the hospitable and beautiful Krasiczyn.
When we look back and return for a moment even to the times when Christianity was embraced in Central Europe by Poland, Kievan Rus, Hungary or the Czech Republic, we will see that in each succeeding generation and century we can point to numerous examples of outstanding people from these countries, cooperating with each other despite political disputes, different ruling interests and different religions, examples of significant circumstances and events related to our part of Europe - giving it special, unique features, which, by the way, have been described many times. Among them are features that even encourage the building of Central European cooperation, and today are worth recalling.
Central Europe remains divided by borders. Not far from here, a dozen kilometers away, we have the border of the European Union. Thanks to providence and people - politicians from Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Romania or Bulgaria - these countries have been co-founding the European Union since 2004, or at the latest since 2007. This is how we got out of Moscow's orbit of influence. Others, however, still remain in it. We rebuilt our states in peace, consolidating our independence in intra-national and intra-EU disputes - as I would allow myself to put it. There is regular fighting in Ukraine. Therefore, today our conference is largely devoted to the war in Ukraine and all its consequences.
Today, May 13, we also meet in Krasiczyn on an important anniversary. Exactly 150 years ago, the first railroad was launched and a passenger train started from Przemysl to Chyrov and then to Budapest. At that time, the EU border did not exist, so you could travel freely to Chyrow and further: to Romania, Hungary, etc. That's why we meet internationally, also to talk about neighborly cooperation, cooperation between nations, to look for what unites us and strengthens each other. We want to share our reflections and impressions. Let's remember that when we talk about modern times, we also talk and think about the future.
Some events or topics of this conference will be very important, some will be important, and some will be somewhat traditional. We always discuss infrastructure, as well as European funds. However, we will talk about the transformation and reconstruction of Ukraine (a panel discussion devoted to this will conclude our conference) for the first time. Specific plans for future transformation will also be presented.
We will be talking about the Collegium Carpathicum project in some new scenes. We will also talk about the diversity of Carpathian Europe, about the routes of civilization, which are the most important for us, because they connect, as it were, not only East and West, but also North and South.
And all this in the Carpathian region, a region of beautiful diversity, which brings not only great natural wealth, richness of flora and fauna, but also a unique wealth of people and their courageous thoughts. People who, drawing abundantly on the heritage of the past - are building the future: a new identity for Carpathian Europe in times of new and great challenges.
Marek Kuchciński
