The Lublin 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 establishment of the Network, called the Lublin Declaration, was signed during the Local Government Economic Congress of the 2nd Forum of the Three Seas Regions on June 29, 2021. 15 Founding Members of the Network took part in the ceremonial signing of the Lublin Declaration in the presence of the President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda.
The Three Seas Regions Network is a cooperation platform open to regions at the NUTS2 and NUTS3 levels from 12 3SI countries (Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary), whose participants have the opportunity to meet regularly in Lublin, exchange of experiences, establishing contacts for the implementation of joint projects.
The signatories of the agreement are the marshals of five Polish voivodeships: Lublin, Masovia, Podkarpackie, Podlaskie and Świętokrzyskie, as well as the heads of regions from the countries belonging to the Three Seas Initiative: the Lithuanian districts of Alytus, Marjampole and Panevezys, the Prešov Region from Slovakia, the Hungarian Hajdú-Bihar County and five Romanian districts. : Călărași, Caraș Severin, Dolj, Maramureș and Timiș.
During the third edition of the Three Seas Local Government Congress in 2023, the ceremonial admission of new members to the Network took place: Rivne and Odessa Regional Military Administration and Khmelnytsky, Transcarpathian and Lviv Regional Councils from Ukraine, as associated partners, as well as the Regional Development Agency “Centru” from Romania, as a permanent member. Additionally, another 4 regions declared their accession to the Network – one Bulgarian region – Dobrich Oblast, and one Romanian region – Hunedoara Oblast as permanent members and two regions from Ukraine – Ternopol and Zhytomyr Oblasts – as associated members. The network brings together 25 regions from 7 countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Close cooperation between the entities will allow the implementation of joint projects in various fields: economy, infrastructure, environmental protection, digitalization, education and science.
In 2022, a report was created describing the potential of all regions from the Three Seas Initiative countries, created in cooperation with the Institute of Central Europe in Lublin. In cooperation with the Institute for the Development of Local Government of the Lublin Voivodeship, the second report was created, identifying common areas of interest and directions of cooperation between the regions of the Three Seas region, with particular emphasis on the current members of the Network. The report is a substantive foundation for the expansion of the Network and indicates directions of future cooperation worth deepening. These include economy, infrastructure, environmental protection, digitalization, education and science. The report also indicates grant programs that constitute a potential source of financing for activities undertaken within the Network.
Regions interested in joining the Network are welcome to contact the Network Office in the Chancellery of the Marshal of the Marshal’s Office of the Lublin Voivodeship in Lublin by phone +48 81 44 16 796 or by e-mail 3SEAS.NETWORK@LUBELSKIE.PL
