The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe has supported the Carpathian Integration Initiative. The next step is to hold a meeting between representatives of local and regional authorities in the Carpathian region and government bodies to agree on a concrete plan for cooperation.

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe announced this.

Speaking to the Congress on 28 October, Vitalii Bezgin, Minister for Communities, Territories and Internally Displaced Persons of Ukraine, emphasised that the initiative aims to bring together eight countries to seek solutions jointly.

‘The Carpathian Integration Initiative was launched to bring eight countries together so that our regions and communities can develop coordinated solutions instead of eight different responses to the same problem,’ said Vitalii Bezgin.

The Minister also called on the delegations from the Carpathian region at the Congress to support the European Union’s macro-regional strategy for the Carpathians.

In 1993, the Carpathian Euroregion, created based on Council of Europe’s Outline Convention on Transfrontier Co-operation, was established between representatives of regions of five countries in this macro-region. Today eight counties – Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Republic of Poland, Romania, the Republic of Serbia, the Slovak Republic and Ukraine – discuss how to expand it.

The First dedicated Carpathian Summit took place in Bukovel (Ivano-Frankivsk region, Ukraine) in September 2026 with participation of heads of state.

In early 2027, the Congress should support a broad thematic meeting, bringing together local and regional authorities from the Carpathian region as well as governmental institutions to agree on specific co-operation plan to advance cohesion, prosperity and security across state borders. The aim is to agree on a cooperation plan to strengthen cohesion, prosperity, and security in the region.

Following a thematic debate “The role of regions in transfrontier co-operation” on 28 October, the Chamber of Regions of the Congress, has decided to hold an in-depth debate on Europe’s macro-regions at its next session, in March 2027.

The Centre of Expertise for Multilevel Governance at the Congress has also expressed its readiness to facilitate exchanges at a more technical and operational level and to provide practical support, consultancy and peer insight for the initiative.