Maria Greta
University of Łódź
EUROREGIONS AND REGIONS’ DEVELOPMENT
OPPORTUNITIES
Regions’ role in European integration carried
out within the European Union has been growing together with advancing
integration processes. After the Maastricht Treaty (1992) was signed, regions
have become the third and most important „tier” of integration (beside national
states and the integrated grouping itself). Central regions support integration,
while peripheral regions decelerate its pace. An exception, however, is euroregions.
Euroregions that are structured cross-border territories stimulate both the
borderland and local communities. As a result, new development opportunities
appear, wherever they emerge. The EU is aware of that and attaches great weight
to euroregionalization, which is evidenced by the prioritization of structural
funds for euroregions.
This article discusses the role of euroregions
in stimulating development processes in peripheral areas. It raises the
following issues:
-
the nature, goals and functioning of euroregions,
-
institutions supporting euroregions,
-
the question of euroregionalization
as a factor activating a region.
1. Euroregion as an element of transborder
cooperation – the nature and goals of its functioning
In fact, euroregions started to
dominate in European integration as late as 1970s, when the first local
achievements of euroregions such as Euregio, Saar-Lor-Lux, or Basiliensis had
already been known. So, what are the euroregions and why do they ensure development
opportunities, what is the source of their special role? Answers to the
questions should be sought in the very nature of euroregionalization.
In simple terms, a euroregion can be
viewed as a special transborder region that connects regions of at least two
neighbouring countries via institutionalized cooperation. Therefore, euroregions
start with transborder cooperation (TC). Their characteristics are provided in
the table below.
Table 1. Transborder
cooperation – its nature and role
|
1. TC is |
1. According to the Framework Convention,
TC applies to every joint effort intended to develop and to strengthen
neighbourhood relations between communities or territorial authorities of two
or a larger number of agreeing parties, and to conclusion of agreements and
adoption of arrangements necessary to execute the parties’ plans. |
|
2. TC is not a means allowing
territorial self-governments gain powers that they are not entitled to under national
law. |
2. TC applies to transborder relations
between local and regional authorities. |
|
3. TC is not a means of creating a
new form of supranational local or regional authorities; therefore, a euroregion
(a European region) has a psychological and not legal value. |
3. TC structures cooperation and regulates
neighbourhood relations between territorial populations at a local or
regional level. |
|
4. TC does not mean that a new,
common region has been established on the border between two states, a
community formed under the public law, (original communities are not
abolished) |
4. TC is one of the priorities of the
Council of Europe. |
|
5. TC does not pose a threat to State’s
economic integrity. |
5. TC is a complex phenomenon and its
composition depends on the location, local traditions, historical and social
conditions. |
|
|
6. TC helps local communities
function and it is important for building international relations. Within the
cooperation, self-government authorities and central administration take
joint actions. TC can be found at different levels and various bodies of
local and regional government are involved in it. It is an important process
in the functioning of contemporary |
|
|
7. TC has become a permanent element
of action programmes executed by the border communes. In the future, it will grow
deeper and apply to extending scopes of actions formulated by local
communities’ needs and problems. Transborder cooperation is a practical tool for
such communities. |
|
|
8. Transborder cooperation is a form
of socialization of State’s external relations: · it helps include populations living in the borderlands into international relations, which
improves the civilization level of local communities and constitutes an
element that enhances democracy, · it is a way of creating an open
society, because civilized transborder
contacts prevent undesirable conflicts, teach tolerance for cultural,
ethnic and religious diversity, · it has an important role to play
in international relations in Central and |
Source: developed
by the author based on Madrid Convention and LACE guide.
The above definition of transborder
cooperation and of its nature shows that the cooperation’s goal is not
abolishment of borders, but better quality of life of people separated by a
state border. Consequently, TC specifically aims at removing historically accumulated
„scars” left by the delineation of state borders and at eliminating economic disparities.
Therefore, transborder regions being the basis of transborder cooperation
become „a driving force” of regional cooperation within the grouping and consolidate
it „from within”. They are also “engines” pushing towards the grouping, as was
the case of the CEE countries.
Because euroregions represent institutionalized
transborder cooperation, they go further than a „regular” transborder region; their
institutionalization lays foundations for the spreading of specific forms of cooperation
that express local entrepreneurship. The established euroregional structures
are not bodies of local government or administration, and the participating
regions are still subjected to the national law. Models of euroregional cooperation
were gathered in the European Framework Convention on Transfrontier Cooperation
between Territorial Communities or Authorities (so-called Madrid Convention of
the Council of Europe, 21 May 1980) and in the European Charter of Local
Self-Government of 15 October 1985.
In addition to the two documents, other
important regulations are the European Charter of Border and Cross-border
Regions (1995) and the European Charter of Regional Self-Government (1997). The
first of them establishes goals and objectives guiding development of the border
and transborder areas. They particularly apply to regional policy, environmental
protection, spatial development, economic issues, cultural exchange, and cross-border
movement of local populations. Regarding the other document, the European
Charter of Regional Self-Government, it gives regions authority to conduct
transborder cooperation, which is similar to powers granted to local
communities under the European Charter of Local Self-Government.
A typical euroregion usually has the
following bodies: a general assembly, a board, working groups and a secretariat.
In most cases, the assembly is a parliamentary-like body holding most powers
and its members are elected. The working groups play an important role,
constituting a forum for exchanging opinions and experiments conducted in certain
areas to help unleash local entrepreneurship.
The main institutions coordinating euroregions’
activities are the EU Committee of the Regions and the Association of European
Border Regions (AEBR), which is a non-governmental organization. They are briefly
described in the section below.
2. The Committee of the Regions and the AEBR
– institutions defining and supporting planes of euroregional entrepreneurship
The Committee of the Regions (CoR) was formed under the Maastricht Treaty
establishing economic and currency union. At that time, the role that regions
play in the process of integration attracted special attention. The awareness
of their role was reflected both in formation of the institution and in priorities
assigned to individual Community policies, primarily the regional policy.
The foundation of the CoR was a turning
point for local communities, as well as for functioning of regions and
euroregions. Through this act, the EU expressed its attitude to regions and
especially euroregions, whose role in the integration process could be already assessed
then, because thirty five years had passed since the first euroregion was
created. The CoR has its own organizational structure and the members are
persons appointed by the member states. Numbers of delegates representing a
state vary depending on its demographic potential. The CoR is composed of six
commissions:
-
COTER –
Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy,
-
ECOS –
Commission for Economic and Social Policy,
-
DEVE –
Commission for Sustainable Development,
-
EDUC –
Commission for Education and Culture and Research,
-
CONST – Commission for
Constitutional Affairs, European Governance and the Area of Freedom, Security
and Justice,
-
RELEX – Commission
for External Relations and Decentralised Cooperation.
The commissions regulate regional issues within their competence areas. While
some consultations are obligatory, others are optional. The first category of
consultations applies to:
-
socio-economic cohesion,
-
education, youth, culture,
-
public health,
-
trans-European networks and transport,
-
employment and social affairs and the
European Social Fund and vocational education,
-
environmental protection.
The CoR can issue opinions on its own initiative on matters other than
these mentioned above when it deems it appropriate, or on request submitted by
the European Commission, the European Parliament or the Council of the European
Union, and also by the European Economic and Social Committee, when the EESC is
preparing a position on special local and regional interests.
In
Natural persons, associations, and institutions
supporting transborder cooperation are also AEBR members, but they act in
advisory capacity and do not have the right to vote. AEBR members are informed on
current problems in border and transborder cooperation at the European level
and they actively participate in formulation of their organization’s policies. In
addition, their membership requires them to share information about recent developments
in their own regions and to support AEBR activities in order to promote border
and transborder regional cooperation at the bilateral and European levels.
AEBR’s main goals can be arranged as
follows:
-
exchange of information between
border regions so that efforts could be coordinated,
-
sharing of information about
individual regions and their problems in an international forum,
-
support for effective solutions to border
regions’ specific problems,
-
development and execution of joint
projects,
-
representation of border regions’
interests towards national and international organizations and institutions,
-
cooperation with the Centre for
European Border Regions[1].
AEBR’s cornerstone document is the European Charter of Border and
Cross-Border Regions. In addition to the Charter, AEBR issued the LACE guide co-funded
by the European Union, which is recognized as so-called „European laboratory of
transborder cooperation”. It offers professional advice underpinned by experience
that individual countries have gathered during long years of transborder cooperation.
Because euroregional integration is a long-term
process, it requires formulation of development plans that cannot be prepared
without joint research teams, information teams, and institutions. Being aware
of that, individual euroregions come together to establish broader, specialized
“unions”, such as the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe (Conférence
des Régions Pérphériques Maritimes de
In 1986, seventy two metropolitan areas
inhabited by at least 250,000 people, having authorities elected in democratic
elections and additionally being internationally-oriented regional centres also
established their own organization. It is called the European Association of
Metropolitan Cities (Association Européenne des Grandem Villes –
EUROCITES)[3].
In
Both the Committee of the Regions and the
Association of European Border Regions facilitate the development of
euroregions and stimulate their local entrepreneurship through purposeful
organizational efforts, as well as expert and advisory services. Local
entrepreneurship in euroregions has its special traits and it is targeted to solving
basic problems of local communities living on the state borders that are perceived
as growth poles.
3. Euroregionalization as a
region-stimulating factor
Euroregionalization, which is a euroregional policy aimed at creating
and developing euroregions and removing the economic, social, spatial, and
geographic disparities between transborder areas, fits within the concept of regionalization
– EU’s regional policy. The latter is the most important element of Communities’
efforts undertaken to stimulate the regions and to raise their competitiveness.
The same functionality is given to euroregionalization, where the element of regions’
boosted activity is even more accentuated, because euroregionalization directs motivating
structural assistance to border areas that, according to the growth poles
theory, belong to economically “disadvantaged” areas.
In the context of the Lisbon Strategy, EU’s regional policy as implemented
today has three goals presented in the table below.
Table 2. Regional
policy goals for years 2007-2013 referring to the Lisbon Strategy.
|
Type of goal |
Goal content |
|
Goal 1 |
Convergence – support for economic
growth and creation of new jobs in the least developed states and regions |
|
Goal 2 |
Regional
competitiveness and employment – support for restructuring
processes in regions that do not qualify for assistance under goal 1, financial
assistance to labour market changes |
|
Goal 3 |
European
territorial cooperation – support for territorial competitiveness, promotion
of harmonious and sustainable development of the EU territory, support for
peripheral regions (including euroregions) |
Source: developed
by the author based on EC materials, including EC website http://europa.eu.int/comm/index_en.hm
All the goals listed above apply to euroregions as beneficiaries of
structural assistance, because euroregions require both structural adjustments and
socio-economic restructuring, i.e. development of human resources. Additionally,
euroregions receive special aid from the Community Initiative INTERREG. Although
the Initiative ceased to exist in the present financial perspective, a tranche
of funds is still available. Therefore, it is worth taking a closer look at
this special type of financial vehicle.
INTERREG was EU’s financial scheme intended to enhance and to stimulate transborder,
interregional and international cooperation. It served as an instrument of sustainable
development for the least developed regions, including euroregions, and thus supported
integration of the Old Continent. The INTERREG III Initiative implemented between
2000 and 2006 was both continuation and extension of two earlier Initiatives (1986-1992
and 1993-1999). INTERREG III put special emphasis on strengthening the euroregions
and its budget amounted to 4,87m euro. The Initiative comprised the following
elements:
-
INTERREG III A – border, transborder and
euroregional cooperation,
-
INTERREG III B – transborder cooperation
between local, regional and national authorities,
-
INTERREG III C – interregional cooperation,
exchange of practices developed inside Communities in fields covered by components
A and B, as well as promotion of European networks (e.g. an urban network of
settlements).
The role of euroregions in stimulating regional development seems to be especially
appreciated today, because the third goal of the regional policy has been distinctly
addressed to euroregions, like the earlier INTERREG Initiative.
West European experience in the field
of euroregionalization proves that when two transborder areas are compared
(their original parameters) and one is a euroregion and the other not, then
euroregionalization and its structural interventions help reduce disparities in
peripheral areas, raise their attractiveness and stimulate competitiveness. Rules
applying to this article do not allow a more extensive analysis of the above
thesis, but one illustration of its validity can be the first euroregion Euregio
on the German and Dutch border. Euroregionalization altered its economic
structure and infrastructure, and other types of business complemented the
textile industry that had dominated there in 1960s. As a result, the employment
structure also changed and new jobs were created. This shows that euroregionalization-related
projects create new opportunities that enable development of effective
solutions to various problems, thus contributing to boosted activity in this
type of regions.
Abstract
A euroregion is a special peripheral
and transborder region, where cooperation has been institutionalized. As a
result, new development opportunities spring up that otherwise could not appear.
The importance of euroregions is also
acknowledged by the establishment of special institutions (the Committee of the
Regions, the Association of European Border Regions) that support planes of
local entrepreneurship.
Because of the undertakings and
development policy pursued by the EU (the Lisbon Strategy), euroregions have
their place among priorities of the EU’s regional policy and support from the available
structural funds.