EU member States and their regions bordering Russia and Belarus, as well as those bordering Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, are facing a specific set of economic, social and security of supply challenges due to Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine. Kymenlaakso is one of these regions. These extraordinary challenges and changes faced by regions on the Russian borders should be appropriately addressed in the new programming period 2028 onward. This means a new cross-border program is needed to tackle the challenges that regions are facing.

The risks for increased regional disparities caused by crises and the geopolitical situation have significantly increased. Since Cohesion Policy is the main policy focused on the socioeconomic development of EU regions and striving to decrease disparities among them it should be adapted to the needs of these territories. The objective of social, economic and territorial cohesion is at the heart of the European project.

There’s no change in sight to this current challenging situation for a long period of time. This will set its mark on the development of the regions bordering Russia for a long time. The joint challenges that regions bordering Russia and Belarus are facing should be tackled by interregional and transnational collaboration initiatives and proactively building up the competitiveness of regions, resilience, and security of supply.
The Regional Council of Kymenlaakso calls for the EU and other regions to start cooperation and work towards a new cross-border program. The preparation of the new program should start

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