Cross-Border Spatial Planning: Understanding, Designing and Managing Cooperation Processes in the German–Polish–Czech Borderland

Abstract

Seven years after the accession of Poland and the Czech Republic into the European Union (EU) the intensity and the quality of cross-border cooperation along the new internal borders are still lagging behind. The physical barriers have been removed with the Schengen Agreement coming into force in 2007. However, the legal, institutional and mental barriers of cross-border cooperation still persist. Cross-border cooperation in spatial planning is often discontinuous and does not meet the expectations of the concerned parties. At the same time, the political pressure to cooperate is high and considerable financial means are available for territorial cooperation in the EU Structural Funds period of 2007–2013. On the basis of three case studies in the area of the German–Polish border, the paper illustrates that there is a lack of knowledge and deficient competences for cross-border cooperation in municipalities and regional administrations. Impeding and supporting factors for cooperation have been identified. It has been proven that institutional capacity among the cooperating partners is crucial. The paper presents recommendations on how to design and manage cross-border communications to achieve transboundary strategy development for efficient and sustainable regional development in Central Europe's border regions.