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The Conference of the Parties
1. Welcomes and encourages further substantive cooperation with the EU institutions and agencies, including with the Council of the European Union, the European Commission,especially DG REGIO and DG Environment, DG AGRI, DG DEVCO, the European Parliament, the European Committee of Regions, and the European Environment Agency;
2. By reiterating the previous COP Decisions (DECISION COP1/13 para 7, DECISION COP2/11 para 12, DECISIONS COP3/10 para 5) inviting the European Union to join the Carpathian Convention as a Party, invites the Parties to jointly address the EU institutions to consider acceding to the Carpathian Convention, being convinced that the accession will contribute to fostering implementation of the Convention and the EU acquis at the regional and the EU level;
3. In this respect, invites the Parties to implement the Road Map for the EU accession to the Carpathian Convention, appreciates the active role of the Secretariat in promoting the process, especially at the EU level, and requests the Secretariat to further facilitate this process;
4. Invites the Parties to consider introducing a "Regional Economic Integration Organization Clause" into the Carpathian Convention, making it possible for the EU to become Party to the Convention, and requests the Secretariat to consult with the European Commission for this purpose;
5. Welcomes the support by the Members of the European Parliament in promoting the Carpathian Convention in various fora at the EU level and invites to further promote the Carpathians and activities and initiatives relevant for the region, including the EU accession to the Convention;
6. Appreciating the UNEP Executive Director’s intervention at High-Level Meeting between UNEP and the European Commission on 2 March 2020 informing the European Commission about the Parties’ intentions for EU accession to the Carpathian Convention, and invites UNEP to further support the process at high-level;
7. Welcomes the cooperation with the Interregional Group “Carpathians” of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), chaired by the Marshal of the Podkarpackie Region, Poland, and requests the Secretariat to continue cooperation with the CoR Group “Carpathians” on topics of mutual interest, supporting the sustainable development of the Carpathian region;
8. Welcomes the paragraph 34 of the Opinion on Macro-regional strategy for the Carpathian region adopted at the 137th Plenary Session of the European Committee of the Regions in December 2019, which acknowledges the positive impact of the Carpathian Convention, the importance of its objectives and their convergence with the EU's priorities, calls on the European Commission to take action towards the EU joining this Convention as a party, and points out that the EU is already a party to the Alpine Convention;
9. Welcomes the ongoing cooperation with EU Macro-regional Strategies, especially the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) based on the Memoranda of Cooperation with respecting EUSDR Priority Areas (EUSDR PA1b “Mobility I Rail-Road-Air”, EUSDR PA2 “Sustainable Energy”, EUSDR PA4 “Water Quality”, EUSDR PA 05 "Environmental Risks" and EUSDR PA 06 "Biodiversity & Landscape") and requests the Secretariat to further facilitate this cooperation and contribute to the implementation of the revised EUSDR Action Plan;
10. Takes note of the developments in establishing the Macroregional Strategy for the Carpathians, in particular the first meeting of the Carpathian Executive Board, held on 20-22 February 2020 in Krasiczyn Castle that agreed on common goals and further steps towards adopting the Strategy, and in this respect requests the Secretariat to further follow this process;
11. Requests the Secretariat to further promote the integration of Carpathian priorities into the relevant Transnational "European Territorial Cooperation" (ETC) Programmes (in particular the Danube Transnational Programme and the Interreg Central Europe) within the new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) period 2021-2027, as well as other relevant funding programmes, and calls upon the Parties to promote the establishment of the ETC Programme dedicated to the Carpathian region at the EU level;
12. Requests the Parties, the Secretariat and relevant stakeholders to consider the new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) period 2021-2027 as an opportunity for advancing the implementation of the Carpathian Convention through timely preparations of project proposals for relevant calls for proposals, addressing the needs and challenges of the Carpathian region, while being in line with the Cohesion Policy principles and contributing to the regional development of Europe;
13. Welcomes the support given by the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, held from 1 January to 30 June 2019, in promoting the Carpathian Convention at the EU level;
14. Welcomes the new EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the ongoing developments of the new EU Forest Strategy post-2020 and invites the Parties and relevant stakeholders to contribute to achieving the EU Strategies through implementing the Carpathian Convention and its objectives;
15. Welcomes the European Green Deal a new growth strategy of European Union that addresses key climate and environmental-related challenges of today.