On April 17 in Lancut, a conference was held on "Benefits for the regions resulting from the implementation of the Via Carpatia route". Representatives of 10 countries, including including Poland, signed proposals to include the VC corridor in the TEN-T core network and the Lańcut III declaration.
Infrastructure Minister Andrzej Adamczyk recalled the initiator of the Via Carpatia project - Prof. Lech Kaczynski - who signed the 1st Łańcut Declaration in 2006.
Adamczyk called the VC the embodiment of the Jagiellonian idea, the creation of a region of friendly states; focused on what unites. He stressed that the VC is a corridor with a planned length of 7700 kilometers - from Ķlajpeda to Thessaloniki and Istanbul.
He welcomed the addition of new countries Belarus and Croatia.
He called absent Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Czech Republic still important candidates for the project. He expressed hope that Estonia, Latvia and Finland would soon join the construction of BC Estonia, Latvia and Finland will also join. According to the VC minister, this is a historic opportunity to fairly connect our region.
Sejm Speaker Marek Kuchcinski said that we are in the midst of a great historical process that can change our part of Europe. He recalled that post-1989 changes in Europe also began with Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary, before the Berlin Wall came down. He called communication the foundation of development. Kuchcinski argued that the VC will serve all areas of life along the EU border. It will contribute to the development of cultural and regional cooperation.
The conference displayed a message from MEP Tomasz Poręba, who argued that today's vote in the EP paves the way for the negotiations on the inclusion of VCs in the TEN-T network.
MP Bogdan Rzonec read out a letter from Prime Minister Morawiecki, in which he stressed the importance of being able to communicate, including for our neighbors from the southern and eastern borders of the European Union.
The prime minister wrote that during the communist era, we had to subordinate the the construction of infrastructure to a headquarters focused on building connections convenient to Moscow. After the fall of communism, we focused on building connections to the West to develop trade and tourism. And it was only in the last decade that we realized that we cannot limit ourselves to developing communications on only one axis: the East - West.
Deputy Development Minister Adam Hamryszczak stressed that one of the of the government's priorities is the development of the region, including the preparation of the Macroregional Strategy of the Carpathian Strategy.
VC will affect the economic development and living standards of citizens.
Gregory Witkowski of the Ministry of Economy and Trade said that the cities on the edges of the VC have one thing in common - access to the sea. In Klaipeda, Rijeke, Constance and Istanbul, 80 percent of trade is conducted by sea. Via Carpatia is a great potential. Its first draft shows the great vision shown by Lech Kaczynski. Connecting the ports is part of Poland's raison d'état. He mentioned that the idea of the Trilateral is also attractive by the fact that it gives our neighbors access to the sea, which they do not have now.
Marshal of the Subcarpathian region Wladyslaw Ortyl read out a a letter from the President of the Law and Justice party Jaroslaw Kaczynski, in which he thanked those involved in the in the project.
Pawel Wojciechowski, a representative of the European Commission, in his speech, said that developing TEN-T is important for the sake of social goals and sustainable development. He welcomed the joining of Belarus and Croatia to the project. He stressed that it is necessary to provide the EC with economic data. It will also be important, in the event that funding is awarded, to the use of project funds.
The conference was attended by representatives of the signatory countries to the declaration.
Agata Obratanska
Photo by Marta Marchlewska
