On 25-26 June 2025, Raimonds Čudars, Minister for Smart Administration and Regional Development, will participate in the European Union (EU) Eastern Border Regions High-Level Conference in Belovezh, Poland. The conference will discuss the future of regional resilience, security and cohesion policy, particularly in the light of the geopolitical situation and demographic challenges in the border areas.
Minister Raimonds Čudars will share Latvia's experience and vision on the measures needed to ensure the long-term sustainable development and security of the Eastern border regions. With defence spending set to reach 5% of GDP next year, the country's budgetary space for development investment will be significantly reduced. This calls for additional EU support beyond the standard cohesion policy framework.
Latvia has already approved an Action Plan to strengthen economic growth and security in Latvia's Eastern Border Region, with €645 million to be invested in security, economic and human resources over the next three years. Latvia has also earmarked an additional €137 million for the Eastern Border Region in the mid-term review of the Cohesion Policy Programme 2021-2027.
Latvia considers that the GDP per capita is an important criterion for the allocation of cohesion funding. At the same time, additional support should be given to regions facing geopolitical risks. Investments should be aimed at promoting entrepreneurship, strengthening civil protection, developing dual-use infrastructure and services, mitigating climate change, as well as strengthening specialist capacity and cross-border cooperation. Latvia also calls for learning from the experience of the Recovery Fund and simplifying procedures for allocating and implementing funding.
Cross-border cooperation, in particular through the Interreg programme, has an important role to play in strengthening regional resilience, security and social cohesion. Such cooperation is also essential for strengthening the EU's identity, especially in the most geopolitically vulnerable areas.