Improved cross-border relevance through integrated interventions: the TAPE tool of the INTERREG V-A Slovakia-Hungary Programme

Abstract

ABSTRACT The paper presents the first outcomes and results of using an integrated territorial tool applied by the Interreg V-A Slovakia-Hungary Cooperation Programme (2014–2020), the ‘Territorial Action Plan for Employment’, or, briefly: the TAPE. The tool is aimed at facilitating quality employment and cross-border labour mobility through the implementation of 2–7 interdependent projects within a geographically defined subregion of the programme area, with the involvement of SMEs, training institutions, NGOs and municipalities. The author introduces the tool and the nine TAPEs financed by the CBC programme and gives a comprehensive assessment of their outcomes and results from the points of view of cross-border labour market development, integrated soft planning and trust building with a special focus on the aspect of cross-border relevance. The study concludes that the tool does not meet the preliminary expectations: its cross-border relevance is not much stronger than the traditional standalone CBC projects. At the same time, the bottom-up cross-border planning exercise has significant added value which might make the tool attractive for other CBC programmes, too.