Abstract:
Under the framework of the European Cohesion Policy, the transnational
cooperation in Europe managed to address common issues and tackle common
challenges in order to promote integration and growth along its regions. Until today,
several forms of transnational cooperation already exist in the EU, including EU
funding under the ‘INTERREG’ programmes across large coherent space. Apart from
this, sub-regional agreements on national level among nation states have also been
developed. This paper discusses the emergence of a new transnational cooperation
form : The European Union macro-regional strategies, prepared for two transnational
areas: The Baltic Sea and the Danube river. After a brief introduction to the EU
cohesion policy and transnational cooperation, the emergence of the macro-regional
strategies will be presented, while their similarities and differences with the
transnational INTERREG programmes will be distinguished. A suitable theoretical
perspective and methodological approach will be set out. The proposed research seeks
to examine the added value of the EU macro-regional strategies, and suggest
arguments that may support or prevent a future possible combination with the EU
funding programmes for transnational territorial cooperation (INTERREG), vis-à-vis
the future Cohesion Policy.
