Extract

Interreg is an instrument of the European Union (EU) through which the territorial cross-border cooperation has been transformed from a spontaneous local phenomenon into a structured EU program. This transformation is the result of a gradual process that took place within the framework of the development of the European integration process since the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1957.

What cross-border cooperation and the European integration project had in common was the ambition to transcend national borders, which were viewed as an obstacle to the creation of a unique space sharing the same historical, cultural, social and economic characteristics. The two ←542 | 543→phenomena have influenced each other over the years, with the European integration process playing a crucial role in the institutionalization of cross-border cooperation and cross-border cooperation initiatives having contributed to a de facto integration among European people and territories beyond national borders. Early interest by the EEC towards the internal border regions and cross-border cooperation as an instrument for the development of these territories and for the European project itself was strictly linked to the objectives of creating a common economic space. The rationale behind this idea was that in the new EEC framework, internal border regions would lose their peripheral and disadvantaged status, while at the same time they would assume an important role in unifying the area. The first studies and cross-border initiatives financed by the European Commission (EC) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) date...