Trans-border Cooperation in Europe: Lessons from an Early Experience
Trans-border Cooperation in Europe: Lessons from an Early Experience

Summary/Abstract: European Integration has profoundly changed the situation of regions atthe internal borders of the European Union. From peripheral regions in a national contextthey could develop into more central regions in a European context. Drawing theadvantages of this change in terms of socio-economic development is not easy and demandsthe cooperation of many actors. In this article we provide the case of an early experiencein this respect; the Euregio Meuse-Rhin (EMR) in the period 1980-2000. The main lessonthat can be learned from the EMR case for other parts of the EU is that development ofcross-border cooperation is a long learning process. The development path depends verymuch on the specific configuration and motivation of the drivers for cooperation. Amongthem individual entrepreneurs with vision are needed to ignite developments. However, toget things really off the ground and realise durable change it has proved essential to beable to use significant and sustained European financial support for key initiatives.

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