Regions and Macro-regions in European Territorial Cooperation: Today and 2021+

Abstract

This chapter offers some critical considerations regarding regionalisation within 2014–2020 European cohesion policy. Attention will focus on the European Territorial Cooperation programmes (ETC) implemented up until the establishment of macro-regions as the transnational evolution of the aggregation of homogeneous territories. The intent of the chapter is to point out how place-based principles have been applied to ETC in the current programming period in light of the territorial diversity of the European Union in order to reach a more balanced European territory. It is assumed that “territorial diversity” has been considered a strength rather than a weakness ever since the reform of the European Regional Development Fund in 2006. This was a way of realising the potential of cities and regions by enhancing their specificity and diversity as added values in European space. Then the chapter explores the macro-regional strategies in the 2014–2020 EU ETC, with specific focus on EUSALP, the European Alpine region, the last macro region endorsed by the European Council in 2016. Conclusions explore the drivers of the forthcoming 2021+ cohesion policy programme by outlining the role of regions and macro-regions in the European spatial context.