Commission meets the Regio-Silience regions again
After the Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine broke out, Europe’s Eastern borders with Russia closed. Regions affected by this closure reached out to the Interreg Europe's Policy Learning Platform for support in navigating the complex policy challenges. From Poland to Norway, the Regio-Silience initiative brought together Europe’s local and regional territories bordering the Russian Federation.
In January 2025 in Olsztyn, Poland, the affected regions teamed up in working groups to co-draft tailored recommendations for adapted policy actions. Similar initiatives led by Interact, TESIM Next, ESPON and CuRI (Catching-Up Regions Initiative of DG Regio), and the World Bank accepted Interreg Europe’s invitation to come to Olsztyn as well. It prevented the duplication of efforts and mainly allowed the participants to benefit from knowledge-sharing and synergies across several programmes and projects.
On 23 May 2025, representatives of regional authorities from Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, and Norway met again, this time in Brussels, Belgium. They met with over 30 representatives of the European Commission’s DG Regio and DG Employment.
Interreg Europe's Policy Learning Platform team moderated the discussion. It was an opportunity to share key takeaways from the Regio-Silience process, initiated by the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship, Poland.
The participants also put forward strategic proposals reflecting the European Commission’s communication on the mid-term review of cohesion policy published in April 2025.
The participants reiterated the need for tailored policy responses for regions bordering Russia, which face unique challenges due to geopolitical shifts, disrupted cross-border relations, and economic uncertainty.
Key messages from the regions
The regions jointly presented concrete recommendations aimed at reinforcing their territorial resilience and ensuring that Europe’s easternmost regions are not left behind.
Among the top priorities are:
- A dedicated funding stream: the regions advocated for the creation of a new cooperation and investment programme, distinct from the current cohesion policy tools, to address their unprecedented situation and foster strategic collaboration along Europe’s eastern border.
- Increased flexibility and co-financing: the regions highlighted the need for 100% grants or zero to low co-financing rates, acknowledging the high financial risks in these areas and limited local resources. Specific calls were made for supporting industrial zones, SMEs, and dual-use technologies related to security and resilience.
- Revitalising cooperation through youth, culture, and innovation: the representatives stressed the importance of investments in youth engagement, education, universities, and regional R&D capacities. Beyond economic considerations, vibrant local communities in the border regions can counteract disinformation and propaganda.
- Infrastructure and housing for regional attractiveness: the participants emphasised the urgent need for affordable housing solutions to counter depopulation and enable migration back to the region.
- Closer collaboration, strategic alignment, and task force creation: the idea of establishing an interregional task force was strongly endorsed to elaborate a joint strategy and facilitate coordinated action across the affected border areas.
Next steps
As the Regio-Silience initiative continues, the Policy Learning Platform will maintain its facilitation role, supporting peer exchange, policy learning and capacity building in support of the EU eastern border regions.
Several follow-up peer reviews from the affected regions are also underway. They address the potential for investments in dual-use technologies and local business development. It demonstrates Interreg Europe’s ability to quickly take up new emerging policy learning needs.
Additionally, the Regio-Silience partners will meet again at the annual forum of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR), scheduled on 29 and 30 October 2025 in Sopot, Poland. They will discuss the steps to put the policy recommendations from Olsztyn in practice.
The Regio-Silience initiative underscores Interreg Europe’s core value: enabling regions to deliver better policies by learning from each other, especially in times of crisis and transformation.
Read about the meeting in Olsztyn
