In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Kristen Michal emphasised that supporting eastern border regions is a matter of security and credibility for the whole of Europe. “Russia’s war against Ukraine has changed Europe fundamentally, and its impact has been particularly pronounced along the eastern border. We are Europe’s frontline. Supporting the frontline means investing in defence and infrastructure and maintaining unwavering long-term support for Ukraine,” the Prime Minister said.
The conference focused on the Commission Communication on strengthening and supporting regions bordering Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. Estonia welcomed the proposals outlined in the Communication but stressed that these need to be clearly reflected in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).
At both the conference and the preceding GAC meeting, Minister of Finance Jürgen Ligi emphasised that eastern border regions have borne a disproportionately heavy security burden, directly affecting their economic development and investment capacity. He noted that EU cohesion policy needs to take this into account through adequate funding, flexibility and targeted measures.
“Estonia took the initiative to ensure that Europe’s eastern border countries received support in addressing the challenges caused by Russia’s aggression and Europe’s principled response to it. These challenges have had macroeconomic, social and budgetary consequences that Europe should address collectively, rather than leaving border regions to deal with them alone. At the rhetorical level, the EU has stood united. The next step is to ensure that this unity is also reflected in the budget. At the same time, we cannot accept that a Member State which has failed to oppose the aggressor, profited from doing business with it and obstructed sanctions against it would be considered among the affected border regions,” the Minister of Finance said.
During the Council discussion, the Minister also highlighted that in the changed security environment, the full potential of cohesion policy needs to be utilised. Estonia has already decided to allocate 11% of its current cohesion policy funding to strengthening defence preparedness. He noted that the special arrangements offered to eastern border regions during the mid-term review of cohesion policy provided positive incentives, which should be continued in the next MFF.
On the 26th of February, the cohesion policy ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania submitted a joint non-paper to the GAC, emphasising that eastern border regions are on the EU’s frontline and thus face direct security, hybrid and geopolitical pressure, which requires targeted EU-level attention and funding.
The discussions in Brussels reflected a shared understanding that strengthening the resilience and development of eastern border regions is a strategic interest of the entire European Union. Estonia reaffirmed that it will continue working to ensure that this principle is reflected in the next EU budget and related policies.
