This summer, the European Commission announced the upcoming "Pact for the Eastern Border Regions," an initiative aimed at transforming the EU's Eastern border regions bordering Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine into more resilient, competitive, and secure territories. However, the Commission’s proposal for the National and Regional Partnership Plans Fund ringfenced resources only for European Eastern border regions bordering Russia and Belarus, excluding those regions bordering Ukraine.

"This definition of Eastern border regions does not reflect the current geopolitical realities, as the omission of regions bordering Ukraine suggests that the effects of Russian and Belarusian aggression are significant only in the immediate vicinity of the aggressor states", said ECR 1st Vice-President Władysław Ortyl during the debate on Eastern Border Regions during the CoR Plenary session.

"Challenges and burdens resulting from the ongoing conflict affect all border regions on the EU's Eastern border, including those bordering Ukraine, for example the regions of Poland, Slovakia, Romania, and Hungary", underlined Mr Ortyl. 

Excluding regions bordering Ukraine hinders the effective implementation of the EU's neighborhood policy objectives and limits support for regions facing the economic and social consequences of the war in Ukraine.