Une approche empirique des initiatives d’aménagement transfrontalier du territoire en Europe

Border Region

European Union

Language(s)

Anglais

Type

Note on a scientific paper, a conference paper, etc.

Main Category

Regional Development – Sustainability

Governance – Power – Cooperation

Theories – Concepts – Terms

Introduction

Based on an exhaustive analysis of the cooperation projects conducted as part of the Interreg IVA programme (2007-2013), this article helps to provide a clearer picture of the notion of cross-border territorial development and gives some examples of the results it can produce.

Summary

This article proposes a systematic analysis of the Interreg IV A projects related to cross-border territorial development which were conducted along Europe's internal borders between 2007 and 2013. It reveals the diversity of the initiatives and shows that they can be separated into different categories according to whether they aim to (1) create or improve networks between actors, (2) produce territorial observations, (3) develop strategies or, finally, (4) produce tangible for the public at cross-border level.

Content

Cross-border territorial development allows the creation or strengthening of continuities, links and spatial practices spanning the borders between regions that still remain largely separated by differences, imbalances and even some tensions between the political actors and societies that inhabit them. In this context, the role of cross-border territorial development is to attenuate these differences and allow societies to move closer together, by acting directly on ways the barrier effect can be physically reduced in border areas. However, notion of territorial development itself remains ill-defined and actually varies considerably from one border region to another. Indeed, there is no European competence on territorial development, and the actors involved in the different border regions are attempting to innovate within frameworks where the scope for action remains limited.

The fundamental idea behind this article is to help to define the very notion of cross-border territorial development in Europe better by examining the outcomes of the projects funded by the INTERREG IVA programme and which come under the topic of cross-border regional development.

To do this, the author has based his work on an existing database (available on https://keep.eu) covering all the projects that benefited from European funding during the INTERREG IV A programming period (2007-2013). 483 projects recorded as part of the programming in 24 cross-border regions were studied. The article reveals how practices grouped under the heading of cross-border territorial development tend to fulfil four different types of missions, which theoretically correspond to four chronologically separate phases: (1) to create networks of actors, (2) to carry out territorial observation at territory level, (3) to produce cross-border strategies, and finally, (4) to fund actual, concrete projects.

In the first part, a state-of-the-art review highlights the lack of clarity around the notion of cross-border territorial development and emphasises the need for a better definition and a common understanding of the purposes of the discipline. The second part specifies the data used, explains the method used and also mentions the limits inherent in the exercise. The following parts present the main results, and the article concludes with a more theoretical discussion of the limits of cross-border territorial development.

Conclusions

The first thing that this article has revealed is how the intensity of cross-border cooperation is extremely variable from one region to another. It is virtually non-existent in some regions, and in particular in those that are separated by major physical discontinuities (such as seas or mountains) or which are sparsely populated, whereas it is very high in the countries that have been members of the European Union for the longest or in certain regions of Eastern Europe where the needs to improve communication networks, for example, are great.

In addition, the article has shown that the majority of projects do not in the end give rise to the implementation of concrete territorial development projects, but rather aim to create networks, carry out territorial observation or develop joint territorial development strategies. In terms of budgets, so-called "concrete" projects account for approximately 52% of the total budget spent through all of these cross-border territorial development projects.

In terms of political steering, it is clear that the main drivers of cross-border territorial development initiatives are local actors, far ahead of regional actors and national actors. Voluntary bodies are also proportionally strongly represented. Finally, the article has shown that cross-border territorial development is not a linear process and that it requires constant efforts to reinforce existing cooperation networks and renew the production of factual knowledge concerning cross-border spaces, which are perpetually changing.

Key Messages

Territorial development is crucial to anchoring the project of European integration in space. However, it is complex to implement, fragile and in need of constant effort to maintain its momentum. Sometimes that leads to disappointment. Through the insights proposed in its empirical analysis, this article enhances understanding of what cross-border territorial development is and what challenges it faces. It also puts a spotlight on its main achievements and emphasises that development initiatives play out over the long term.

Lead

Antoine Decoville

Frédéric Durand

Author of the entry

Antoine

Decoville

Keywords

Territorial development

Borders

Interreg

cross-border cooperation

Contact Person(s)