ECR 1st Vice-President Władysław Ortyl chaired on Wednesday the meeting of the CoR Interregional Carpathian Group in Prešov, Slovakia. The gathering was followed by the CIVEX External Seminar on Ukraine’s path to EU integration, a session of the Working Group Ukraine, and a study visit to Uzhhorod, Ukraine. ECR members Pavel Branda, László Őri, Oszkár Seszták and Branislav Zacharides also took part.

The Interregional Carpathian Group was joined by the Heads of the Military Administrations from four Ukrainian regions: Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zakarpattia and Chernivtsi. 

Mr Ortyl underlined that an EU Macro-regional Strategy for the Carpathians would significantly strengthen coordinated development across the mountain region shared by several Central and Eastern European countries, including Ukraine. Such a strategy, he stressed, “would focus on improving connectivity, supporting sustainable economic growth, and addressing shared environmental challenges specific to mountain ecosystems.” 

Both Mr Ortyl and Mr Branda stressed the importance of ensuring that Ukraine’s border regions remain fully integrated into EU cross-border cooperation mechanisms. They highlighted that well-functioning cross-border structures — supported by improved access to EU funding and coherent policies between national, regional and local authorities — will be essential for reconstruction, economic recovery, and people-to-people contacts across the Carpathian region. As President of the European Cross-Border Platform, Pavel Branda reiterated that border barriers must be reduced, procedures aligned, and cross-border governance strengthened so that Ukraine can gradually integrate into the wider European administrative and economic space.

The CIVEX seminar featured a video contribution from European Commission Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto and focused on the role of local and regional authorities in Ukraine’s EU integration, with a particular emphasis on cross-border cooperation. ECR members highlighted that investments in transport links, border-crossing facilities and logistics infrastructure along the EU–Ukraine border remain essential for connectivity and will be central to Ukraine’s long-term reconstruction.

With peace efforts ongoing, participants of the Working Group Ukraine endorsed the updated CoR 10-point Support Package for Ukraine, centred on clear and deliverable objectives. ECR representatives also stressed that Ukraine’s ability to effectively use EU funds will depend on whether decentralisation reforms continue to deliver competent, transparent and rule-based local institutions. For Ukraine’s border regions in particular, this capacity is essential for taking part in pre-accession funding instruments and Interreg initiatives, which are key stepping stones on the country’s road toward EU membership.