On Friday (30 September), Deputy Speaker of the Sejm Marek Kuchciński participated in another Carpathian conference. The representatives of numerous Carpathian towns from Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Ukraine met in the Now Dwór conference center in Świlcza (near Rzeszów). The representatives of the Carpathian towns signed the Carpathian Memorandum presented by Marek Kuchciński, the Chairman of the Carpathian Parliamentary Group. They also approved the initiative of creating a "Carpathian Cities Network" proposed by the Management Board of the Association "Carpathian Euroregion - Poland".

"We have an ambitious plan to raise the rank of the Carpathian area in terms of European Union policy to at least the level of the Danube Strategy or the Baltic Strategy. And in regional cooperation we want to support such initiatives as 'The Carpathian Horizon' (interregional cooperation), so that the regions (people, entrepreneurs) can benefit as it is the case e.g. in the Alps (Alpine space), with the support of states and the whole EU" - said in his speech Marshal Kuchciński.

{gallery}konferkarpacka{/gallery}

"From the meetings in Krynica (and there were ministers and parliamentarians from a number of countries there) we came away with a common conviction that it is necessary to support various initiatives developing at the level of various border regions and local governments, such as in the Carpathian Euroregion, and to try to make the EU contribute with its institutions, its financial strength and its capacity for organizational cooperation to coordinate the various projects currently operating. Because there are many projects already functioning, but they are not always coordinated with each other. That is why we prepared a memorandum, which we consult and propose to send to prime ministers of all EU countries and ministries concerned with the Carpathians, that is economy, environment, infrastructure and of course foreign affairs.

The point is that at the upcoming meetings of the European Union, the EU countries will accept, in the EU budget for 2014-2020, financing for the entire Carpathian macro-region. It is about logistical and organizational support, but also financial.

We want to win this support for the Carpathians and for such undertakings as 'The Carpathian Horizon' (it is an initiative to develop and coordinate undertakings within the framework of the 'Carpathian Euroregion'). The result depends on our grassroots initiative and on the political will of the EU" - stressed Marshal Kuchciński, asking the representatives of the Carpathian cities to support this Memorandum.

Carpathian Cities Network

During the conference, Vice President of the Association "Carpathian Euroregion - Poland", Dawid Lasek, presented the idea of creating a "Network of Carpathian Cities".

-Cooperation between regions and local governments in the Carpathians has been going on for many years. Carpathian Euroregion is an idea that has been functioning for 20 years, but this idea needs to be transformed into concrete actions and concrete structures. Idea "network of carpathian cities" is just such a proposal, resulting from the problem analysis. It is a response to certain challenges facing both the Carpathian regions and municipalities in the Carpathians. The Carpathian cities (this specific type of local government) have many things in common: similar development problems, similar socio-economic profile and the same problems arising from it.

And this is the platform on which the Carpathian cities should cooperate in order to better use their potential. So far, cooperation between cities has been on a bilateral basis, i.e. between partner cities. Wherever there were European funds, there were also projects, but they did not go beyond the framework of bilateral cooperation. The idea of the network of Carpathian cities is different: it is a matter of getting organized and creating new financial opportunities for the Carpathian cities. Cooperation of many entities is more likely to lead to a common success than bilateral cooperation within the framework of partner cities" - announced vice-president Dawid Lasek.