The Network of the Three Seas Regions currently brings together 30 regions from 9 countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
The Network Three Seas Regions is a cooperation platform open to NUTS2 and NUTS3 regions from the 13 3Seas countries (Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, and Greece). Members of the Network have the opportunity to meet annually in Lublin, exchange experiences, and establish contacts for joint projects. Participation in the Network is free of charge . Close cooperation between entities allows for the implementation of joint projects in various fields: economy, infrastructure, environmental protection, digitalization, education, and science. Regions from countries associated with the Three Seas Initiative, such as Ukraine, Moldova, Albania and Montenegro may join the Network as associated partners.
History of the Network
The Lubelskie Voivodeship is the initiator of the establishment of the Economic Network of the Three Seas Regions, which is a format of direct cooperation between local governments from twelve countries of the Three Seas Initiative. The declaration on the creation of the Network, called the Lublin Declaration, was signed during the Three Seas Local Government Economic Congress on June 29, 2021.The ceremonial signing of the Lublin Declaration in the presence of the President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda was attended by 15 Founding Members of the Network.
The text of the final version of the Lublin Declaration in the signatories’ languages:
In 2022, in cooperation with the Institute of Central Europe in Lublin a REPORT was created describing the potential of all regions from the Three Seas Initiative countries.
In addition, in 2022, as part of the project “Network of Three Seas Regions – a tool for cooperation between local governments of central Europe” financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland in the “Public Diplomacy 2022” competition, the content of the agreement and charter formalizing the Three Seas Regions Network was developed. The project also developed a website WWW.3SEASNETWORK.LUBELSKIE.PL to promote the Network and its activities and to facilitate communication between all its members. In cooperation with the Institute of Local Government Development of the Lubelskie Voivodeship, the SECOND REPORT was created identifying common areas of interest and directions of cooperation between regions from the Three Seas area, with particular emphasis on the current members of the Network. The report is a substantive foundation for the expansion of the Network and indicates the directions of future cooperation worth deepening. These are economy, infrastructure, environmental protection, digitization and education and science. The report also indicates grant programs, which are a potential source of financing for activities undertaken within the Network.
On May 17, 2023 in Lublin, during the third edition of the Three Seas Local Government Congress, the Network gained a permanent basis in the form of an Agreement specifying the rules of its operation.
The signatories of the agreement are the marshals of five Polish voivodeships: Lubelskie, Mazowieckie, Podkarpackie, Podlaskie and Świętokrzyskie, and the heads of regions from the countries belonging to the Three Seas Initiative: the Lithuanian regions of Alytus, Marjampole and Panevėžys, the Prešov Self – Governing Region from Slovakia, the Hungarian Hajdú-Bihar County and five Romanian counties: Călărași, Caraș Severin, Dolj, Maramureș and Timiș.
Agreement of the Network of the Three Seas Regions
Charter of the Network of the Three Seas Regions
During the third edition of the Three Seas Local Government Congress in 2023, took place the ceremonial admission of new members to the Network: Rivne and Odessa Regional Military Administration and Khmelnitsky, Transcarpathian and Lviv Regional Councils from Ukraine as associated partners, as well as the Regional Development Agency “Centru” from Romania, as a regular member.
In the years 2023-2026, further regions joined the Network, including the Bulgarian region (Dobrich Oblast), two Romanian regions (Hunedoara County, Vaslui County), regions from Ukraine (Ternopil and Zhytomyr Oblasts), Moldova (Ștefan Vodă County) and the Greek region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace.
PROJECTS IMPLEMENTED WITHIN THE NETWORK OF THE THREE SEAS REGIONS
Declaration on Partnership and Cooperation of the Members of the Network of the Three Seas Regions for supporting the preparation and construction of the international transport corridor Via Carpatia
In 2024, the Prešov Region fromSlovakia launched an initiative to collaborate in further lobbying for the construction of the Via Carpatia route – a crucial section of nearly 60 km running through the Prešov Region from the Polish border to the Hungarian border. It constitutes the missing link connecting the northern and southern sections of the route.
For the purpose of lobbying the Slovak and Polish governments, as well as European institutions, to include this section among the priorities and upcoming infrastructure development plans, the Declaration was signed on 11 December 2024 in Brussels by the Lubelskie Voivodeship, the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, and the Prešov Self-Governing Region. On 12 March 2025, during the Three Seas Congress in Lublin, the remaining members of the Network added their signatures in support of the document.
Support for the Slovak section was also the subject of a meeting with Raffaele Fitto, Vice-President of the European Commission, which took place in Brussels on 15 May 2025. The meeting focused on the future of cohesion policy and the challenges faced by regions along the eastern border of the European Union. The discussions were attended by Jarosław Stawiarski, Marshal of the Lubelskie Voivodeship, Władysław Ortyl, Marshal of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, and Marek Hudák, representative of the Prešov Self-Governing Region.
Three Seas Tourism Network (3Seas Tourism Network)
This initiative is being implemented through cooperation between the Lubelskie Voivodeship, the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Lublin Regional Tourism Organisation, and the Association of Bulgarian Black Sea Municipalities. The Network will support the development of the tourism economy, strengthen regional brands, and build a coherent tourism offer for the regions of Central and Eastern Europe while ensuring the most effective use of EU funds and other support mechanisms.
The Declaration on the Establishment of the Three Seas Tourism Network was signed on 12 March 2025. The tourism network represents an extension of the existing cooperation within the Three Seas Regions Network, dedicated specifically to the tourism sector.
Regions interested in joining the Network are invited to contact the Network Office in the Chancellery of the Marshal’s Office of the Lubelskie Voivodeship in Lublin by phone +48 81 44 16 796 or by e-mail 3SEAS.NETWORK@LUBELSKIE.PL
We invite you to cooperate with us!