60 Years of Cross-border Cooperation in Europe: Reconciliation, Re-unification, Reconstruction and Rescaling

• Published in: Eurolimes Vol. 26; pp. 87 - 247
• Main Author: Groenendijk, Nico
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oradea Institute for Euroregional Studies Oradea-Debrecen 01.10.2018
• Subjects: Cooperation; Environmental policy; European integration; Monetary unions; Nation states; Reconciliation; Regionalism; Regions; Supranationalism; Europe
• ISSN: 1841-9259; 2247-8450

Since the late 1950s, regional local and local authorities in Europe have become involved in cross-border cooperation schemes, with the European Commission and the Council of Europe as main driving actors. Especially over the last decade, cross-border cooperation, both within Europe and at its external borders, has been booming. Cross-border cooperation can be initiated for a number of reasons. Based on literature review, this paper presents a contextual model which includes four main drivers or rationales for cross-border cooperation: reconciliation, re-unification, reconstruction and re-scaling. This typology is based on two dimensions. First, we look at the extent to which cross-border cooperation is instrumental (aiming at problem solving) or normative (i.e. addressing identity issues). Secondly, cross-border cooperation different, depending on how much it questions and challenges existing borders and governance structures. This results in four contexts for cross-border cooperation. Cross-border cooperation for re-scaling involves instrumental cross-border cooperation, which is additional to the existing structures and often limited in scope. Cross-border cooperation for reconstruction is a type of cross-border cooperation, which has a broader (multi-purpose) scope, challenges existing structures and intends to replace them. Cross-border cooperation for reconciliation aims at establishing good 'neighbourly' relations between regions with separate identities, within existing governance structures, and is often also limited in scope. Cross-border cooperation for re-unification is politically driven, aiming at doing away with borders that divide regions with shared identities, and intending to replace them with new comprehensive structures.