The future of the European Union's territorial development and the achievement of our common goal of social and economic cohesion in the Union while preserving the richness of its diversity will increasingly depend on an even and integrated strengthening of competitiveness and innovation throughout the EU.
The importance of this formidable challenge for the political and economic elites of European countries grows when we consider the pressures of globalization, adverse climate and demographic changes, the crisis of the European market and the shaky foundations of sustainable development.
At the same time, we cannot and do not want to give up on the Union's concern for sustainable development, understood as "a balance between economics and ecology" and "a balance between economics and social values."
Today, it is already clear that the enlargement of the EU to include new member countries has set in motion a number of new initiatives that have enriched thinking about the socio-economic development of Europe as a whole by creating new incentives for this development, particularly in the territorial dimension.
Examples of this are macro-regional initiatives such as the Baltic Sea Strategy and the Danube Strategy demonstrating the skills of macro-regional cooperation among countries in our region. They show how important it is to combine the potentials of many countries and the Union in thinking about development in order to create a "development cumulative effect" around clearly defined goals.
From a macro-regional perspective, a strategic view not only provides additional value to existing development policy initiatives, but also encourages directing attention to areas that can be considered particularly relevant to the European Union.
The Carpathian Macroregion can be fully recognized as such an area. It fulfills the criteria for macro-regional strategies set by the European Commission, which considers this very form of territorial development to be particularly important in the future programming period of the cohesion policy .
The Carpathian macro-region fulfills the definition criteria, as it is fully an area connecting "the territories of different countries and regions linked by common features and problems." It covers a large chunk of Central Europe, Southeast Europe and the Balkans. The Carpathian Mountains are one of the largest mountain chains in Europe (more extensive than the Alps), with the greatest biodiversity, stretching in an arc shape over 1,500 kilometers from Austria, through the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine covered by the Eastern Partnership program, to Serbia.
In Poland, the Carpathian region covers more than 6% of the country's area, and includes vast areas concentrated in the Silesian province, Malopolska and Podkarpacie - from the Beskids through the Tatras to the Bieszczady mountains. The area, known as the green backbone of Central and Eastern Europe, is strategically important for a number of reasons.
First, it is an extremely important area geopolitically and crucial to the Southeastern direction of European policy. It connects European countries with a threefold status: member states, accession states and those covered by the Eastern Partnership (ENP). It is a place where many strategic political interests intersect. After the EU's recent enlargement, the Carpathian Mountains became its eastern border, raising the importance of the region and its stability for the Community as a whole.
Secondly, it is a very culturally rich and socially diverse area. It is a wonderful example of the European richness of tradition blended with modernity. It is also an area of many important economic initiatives, populated by people with great entrepreneurial potential.
Third, it is one of Europe's most important environmental resources with extraordinary natural wealth. It has a tremendous influence on the climate and water relations of Central European countries, and its scenic and spa qualities enhance its attractiveness.
At the same time, however, there are serious problems and challenges to be met in the area. We will mention only two of the most important ones
In the Carpathians, natural disasters (floods) arise year after year, causing huge losses. In the Polish part of the Carpathians and in the foothills, flash floods cause billions of dollars of damage every year, which the state is unable to repair. And at the same time, the Carpathians produce drinking water that provides nearly 90% of Romania's needs and more than 50% of Poland's needs (Vistula River basin). This is a fundamental issue for future generations, and proper water management must certainly be one of the pillars of a macro-regional strategy in the area.
The Carpathian Mountains are among the most competitively weak areas in this part of Europe.
It encompasses the poorest parts of the current Union and its neighbors, and requires environmental and transportation investments, support for local entrepreneurship, as well as a coherent policy on human resources, including migration. Particularly important are initiatives for transport integration of the area, enabling both its efficient connection with the rest of the continent, but also its internal integration (e.g. within Poland). The Carpathians are therefore a strategically important area for the European Union and require separate coverage in EU programs. They require support according to the oft-cited principle of European solidarity, understood as the ability to share one's wealth with others.
The Carpathian states back in 2003 agreed on the following scope of cooperation in the form of the very good Carpathian Convention promulgated in Kiev, as a certain platform defining a framework or "general policy objectives promoting an integrated approach to the conservation and sustainable development of the Carpathians." However, this does not diminish the impression that this macro-region remains in the shadow of the European Union. And it is reinforced by the fact that the mountain problems of the Carpathians are not covered by any of the multilateral forms of cooperation such as in the case of the Black Sea, Baltic, or Danube states.
For all these reasons, it seems reasonable that a European Strategy for the Carpathians should be established.
Its goal, following the example of the Baltic Sea Strategy or the Danube Strategy, should be primarily to strive for the integration of European Union instruments and action programs directed to individual areas within the Carpathian macro-region (and according to the arrangements under the Carpathian Convention), where many projects are already being implemented with Community funds, but not always in an effective manner.
There is potential and the will to cooperate on the ground, which is evident in the unfortunately scattered political initiatives and practical actions at various levels. The time has come to take it a step further.
The Economic Forum in Krynica, which begins on September 7, may be an opportunity to do so. During it, as part of the parliamentary dimension of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Sejm and Senate of the Republic of Poland are organizing a conference on "Carpathian Europe." It is to provide a platform for dialogue for all those interested in the development of mountainous lands and regional cooperation both within the EU and with its closest neighbors. It is also to serve the purpose of taking joint international action for the development of the Carpathians and the possibility of raising this macro-region higher in the hierarchy of European cooperation and development.
"Carpathian Europe" is also part of the implementation of the priorities of the Polish Presidency (Eastern Partnership, European integration of the Carpathian countries, security in the broad sense). At the same time, it is an opportune moment for this initiative, as work has begun on the new regulations of development policy in the EU financial framework for 2014-2020. Therefore, the international discussion on the development of Carpathian Europe may provide an opportunity to present an objective in the EU forum that would be clearly identified with the Polish initiative.
May the slogan: "The European Union rich with the Carpathians" allow for better and more effective development of this important place on the map of our continent.
