Institutionalisation of Joint Efforts Aimed at Ensuring the Cross-Border Security of Poland

Abstract

Cross-border cooperation constitutes one of the most important projects within the European ‘architecture’, and entails an entire system consisting of international public law, European integration, subsidiarity and partnership parameters, decentralisation and regionalisation, as well as international and domestic security parameters. It is one of the priorities of the European neighbourhood and strategic partnership policy. Cross-border cooperation focuses on member states and states utilising the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument. It applies to both land and sea borders. With regard to cooperation aimed at ensuring Polish border security, two levels can be defined: 1. cooperation with the neighbouring states and domestic institutions with regard to the system of managing state border security, focused primarily on actions relating to preventing and counteracting cross-border crime; 2. cooperation benefiting third countries (countries which are not neighbours) which is advisory in nature and entails sharing experience and best practices. In this paper, I analyse various methods and forms of cross-border cooperation on the international and domestic level.