ANALYSIS OF EUROPEAN TERRITORIAL COOPERATION (ETC) ON POLAND'S EASTERN BORDER

Abstract

Abstract. The article provides a comparative and critical analysis of European Territorial Cooperation (ETC) programmes implemented along Poland’s eastern border in the financial perspectives 2014-2020 and 2021-2027. The study examines three programmes: Poland-Russia CBC 2014-2020, Poland-Belarus-Ukraine CBC 2014-2020, and Interreg NEXT Poland-Ukraine 2021-2027. It analyses their objectives, institutional design, thematic priorities, financial allocations, implementation mechanisms and achieved results, while situating them within the broader framework of EU cohesion and neighborhood policy.

The research demonstrates that while thematic continuity across programming periods reflects the structural needs of peripheral border regions, the geopolitical rupture caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 fundamentally transformed the operational logic of ETC. Cooperation with Russia and Belarus was suspended, funds were reallocated, and Interreg NEXT evolved from a neighborhood policy instrument into a strategic mechanism supporting Ukraine’s reconstruction and European integration.

The findings indicate that ETC programmes significantly mitigate socio-economic marginalisation in peripheral regions yet remain structurally vulnerable to geopolitical shocks. The analysis highlights a critical threshold beyond which local cross-border pragmatism becomes subordinate to macro-political decisions. The article concludes that future ETC architecture at the EU’s external borders requires enhanced institutional flexibility, geopolitical conditionality clauses, and reinforced infrastructural resilience.

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Received: 10.01.26 / Revised: 24.01.26 / Accepted: 18.03.26 / Published:30.03.26