What’s in the agenda of the 3SI Local Government Congress?
New programme lines, including issues concerning Ukraine. In addition, Economic Forum, Debate of Regions and side events, i.e. Festival of Three Seas Regions – Via Dukt. These are only some of the components of the Three Seas Local Government Congress. The Event will be held on 6-7th June in Lublin.
Economic Forum
The Economic Forum will include seminars, B2B meetings and study visits facilitating establishing business contacts.
Seminar on Interreg programmes
The main theme of the seminar will be the significance of the Interreg programmes in developing international cooperation with particular consideration of the priorities identified within the Three Seas Initiative (3SI). The aim of the seminar is to exchange experience and good practices concerning implementation of joint projects within the Interreg programmes, permanent effects and their influence on development processes in the Three Seas regions. An important objective of the debate will be to point out the needs, possibilities and ways of building permanent cooperation between Three Seas regions in 2021-2027. The effect of the seminar discussion should be identification of concrete themes, which might become a platform for elaborating joint undertaking and projects to be implemented based on, among others, Interreg programmes.
Debate of Regions
The Debate of Regions is dedicated to the extension of the local government component of the Three Seas Initiative. This year, it is organised within the programme financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland “Public diplomacy 2022” addressing the need to promote the leading role of Poland in the Three Seas Initiative and deepening interregional cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe. The Network of the Three Seas Regions is to become a tool of cooperation for the 3SI regions supplementing the current relations on the national level with the local government level. The Debate is mainly targeted at 15 local governments from Poland, Romania, Lithuania, Slovakia and Hungary, which in 2021 signed the Lublin Declaration on establishing the Network, as well as at 233 local governments from all the 12 states of the 3SI, which can join the Network and benefit from its tools. The Aggression of Russia against Ukraine has also redefined interregional cooperation and created the need of solidarity and support for the Ukrainian regions. The discussion will also address both the support for the refugees coming from Ukraine to neighbouring 3SI regions, as well as the idea of deepened support in implementing pre-accession and reconstruction funds.
Infrastructure and transport in the Three Seas Initiative area
The content partner o f the panel is Ministry of Infrastructure of the Republic of Poland. The discussion will concern the following issue: “Is there a need to redefine the policy of transport corridors on the north-south axis in the context of current geopolitical situation? Finalisation of works on the road routes , coherent network of railway connections”. Transport ministers of Bulgaria, Greece, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine and Hungary have been invited to take part in in the panel.
Expert panel of the Institute for Central Europe in Lublin
Title: Ahead of the summit in Riga: opportunities and challenges of the Three Seas Initiative
The nearest, 7th Summit of the Thee Seas Initiative will take place in June 2022 in Riga. The Latvian vision of this format is dominated by the pragmatic attitude concentrating on economic cooperation built around specific transport, energy and digital projects. Surely, it will also be the next summit, where European and transatlantic orientation of the 3SI will be emphasised. The expert panel will create an opportunity to summarise current achievements of the Initiative but also to discuss challenges of this format, including, among others, real and potential conflicts between member states and in the direct neighbourhood (aggression of Russia against Ukraine), slow pace of implementation of priority projects, recapitalising the Three Seas Investment Fund, return of 3SI states to the economic growth path and support by external actors (mainly USA and EU)
Side event: 2nd Festival of Three Seas Regions -Via Dukt
On 3-8th June 2022 TVP Lublin will organise “II Festival of Three Seas Regions -Via Dukt”. This is the second edition of the festival inaugurated successfully last year, which has become a permanent media project being a culture showcase of the Lubelskie Region related to promotion of the idea of the Three Seas Initiative. The festival aims at popularisation of the Three Seas geopolitical project initiated in 2015 during the meeting of the Presidents of Poland and Croatia based on the idea of Lech Kaczyński, who, in 2008 called for strengthening relations between Central Europe countries and developing economic, military and infrastructural cooperation. The motto of this year festival will be supporting war-stricken Ukraine and the Ukrainians who aspire to the European Union and who, in future, will be a strong element supporting the Three Seas Initiative on its all levels. The programme of the festival will include broadcasting music shows, concerts, plays featuring challenges faced in this difficult times by Poland, Ukraine, Mediterranean countries and the European Union. We will show things and events in the 3SI regions worth interest, we will also try to answer the question what our big and small homelands are. As part of the “2nd Festival of the Three Seas regions – Via Dukt” a special concert “Music of the Three Seas” is planned, performed by artists from Ukraine in the Musical Theatre in Lublin, as well as a number of other art events.
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