European Territorial Cooperation Research Articles

Asymmetric patterns in territorial cooperation between core and periphery: The participation of Central and Eastern Europe in transnational and interregional cooperation programmes

AbstractThe study deals with the issue of core–periphery relations in the European Union, investigating its patterns in relation to the participation of Central and Eastern European (CEE) member states in European Territorial Cooperation (ETC) programmes between 2007 and 2020. Core–periphery patterns do exist in the European space, where besides the North‐Western core (‘Core’), there are two distinct peripheries, CEE and Southern Europe. The peripheral position is reflected in the weak performance of CEE in European‐wide RDI networks subsidised by the EU. On the basis of the KEEP database, the study analyses the signs of core–periphery relations by identifying whether there is asymmetry in the participation of CEE and Core countries in cooperation projects under the transnational (INTERREG B) and interregional (INTERREG C) strands (together, TI) of ETC. The findings of the study show that there is a significant difference in the forms of involvement of actors from North‐Western Europe and CEE in the TI programmes. Actors from CEE countries are very motivated to become involved in TI projects. However, they are significantly underrepresented in lead partner positions, especially in funding. The study's results suggest that participation activity patterns are significantly asymmetric in TI programmes, showing signs of a core–periphery dynamic even in such place‐based, cohesion‐oriented programmes. The consequence is that the articulation of geographic characteristics, special needs and issues associated with CEE is limited as they play a rather adaptive and imitating role in those territorial cooperation programmes that are influential in discourses and policies about territorial development in the European arena.

European territorial cooperation towards territorial cohesion?

ABSTRACT Understood in some conceptual analysis as a pillar of territorial cohesion and due to its critical role in promoting territorial integration, territorial cooperation is often presented as one of the major positive achievements of European Union (EU) Cohesion Policy. In this context, this article proposes a conceptual framework to assess the contribution of the European Territorial Cooperation process, including the beyond-funding support from the Border Focal Point, to the ultimate goal of EU Cohesion Policy: territorial cohesion. For that, expertise from the leaders of European cross-border associations is used, as well as European Commission officials.

Bilingual resuscitation training does not affect adherence to resuscitation guidelines but reduces leadership skills and overall team performance. An observational study with cross-border German-Polish training

Aim of studyThis study aims to investigate feasibility and quality of a bilingual cardiopulmonary resuscitation training with interprofessional emergency teams from Germany and Poland. MethodsAs part of a cross-border European Territorial Cooperation (Interreg-VA) funded project a combined communication and simulation training was organised. Teams of German and Polish emergency medicine personnel jointly practised resuscitation. The course was held in both languages with consecutive translation.Quality of chest compression was assessed using a simulator with feedback application. Learning objectives (quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, adherence to guidelines, closed loop communication), and team performance were assessed by an external observer. Coopeŕs Team Emergency Assessment Measure questionnaire was used. ResultsTwenty-one scenarios with 17 participants were analysed. In all scenarios, defibrillation and medication were delivered with correct dosage and at the right time. Mean fraction of correct hand position was 85.7% ± 25.7 [95%-CI 74.0; 97.4], mean fraction of compression depth 75.1% ± 21.0 [95%-CI 65.6; 84.7], compression rate 117.7 min−1 ± 7.1 [95%-CI 114.4; 120.9], and chest compression fraction 83.3% ± 3.8 [95%-CI 81.6; 85.0].Quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation was rated as “fair” to “good”, adherence to guidelines as “good”, and closed loop communication as “fair”. Bilingual teams demonstrated good situational awareness, but lack of leadership and suboptimal overall team performance. ConclusionBilingual and interprofessional cross-border resuscitation training in German and Polish tandem teams is feasible. It does not affect quality of technical skills such as high-quality chest compression but does affect performance of non-technical skills (e.g. closed loop communication and leadership).

Repeating partners and partnerships in European Territorial Cooperation: a quantitative analysis

ABSTRACT European Territorial Cooperation programmes (also known as Interreg) are designed to promote integration by encouraging organizations in multiple regions to work together on projects to address shared challenges. While some key aspects of these programmes have been studied (territorial scope, thematic areas, types of initiatives), research into participant organizations and their logic within partnerships (groups of organizations working together on projects) and the reasons for their participation in multiple projects, individually or in clusters, has been less thorough. This article presents a quantitative analysis of programmes under Interreg B and C, investigating the variables that influence organizations’ involvement in partnerships and the logic behind repeated collaborations. The aim is to supplement existing research, complementing it and supporting providing a better understanding of this framework to programme planners, enabling them to make more informed decisions when aiming to maximize the impact of their programmes when considering partners and partnerships.

The Impact of European Territorial Cooperation on Selected Aspects of the Quality of Life of the Inhabitants of Cross-Border Areas

The Impact of European Territorial Cooperation on Selected Aspects of the Quality of Life of the Inhabitants of Cross-Border Areas

The Willingness of Tourism-Friendly Cities’ Representatives to Share Innovative Solutions in the Form of Open Innovations

The tendency of enterprises to use open innovations can be seen in the literature in many areas of research and practical application. However, the use of the concept of open innovation in local administration entities is less noticeable. The research gap in this area prompts the authors to examine such a tendency among city representatives in the example of the Tourism Friendly Cities (TFC) group. TFC is a group of nine tourism destinations that are also European cities struggling with the impact of modern tourism. They take part in the URBACT program under the European Territorial Cooperation program. The goal of the article is to identify the basic problems of TFCs with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and to assess the propensity of TFC representatives to transfer innovative solutions in the form of open innovation. The article presents findings based on interviews with 104 experts from these cities, consisting of representatives of the public and private sectors. Research results indicate that the key problems of modern tourism in TFCs include constraints related to the lack of parking spaces, high rents and high prices of land, and short-term rental housing. The experts recommend measures to increase resilience and competitiveness initiated by business owners and at the initiative of the local administration. Key tools in this regard include and local community communication and engagement, creating attractions that benefit both residents and visitors, and measuring and monitoring tourism. In all, 92.8% of the experts believe that the right solution for the development of methods and tools for stakeholder cooperation in TFCs is to share the developed solutions in the form of open innovation.

The ambition for European Territorial Cooperation for Indianoceania: towards a community of destiny?

The ambition for European Territorial Cooperation for Indianoceania: towards a community of destiny?

Державне регулювання транскордонного співробітництва на регіональному рівні

Досліджено питання державного регулювання та особливості державної політики у сфері транскордонного співробітництва. Подано основні характеристики та проблемні аспекти транскордонного співробітництва, що перешкоджають його ефективному використанню в Україні для розвитку громад та для регіонів загалом.

Territorial Development and Cross-Border Cooperation: A Review of the Consequences of European INTERREG Policies on the Spanish–French Border (2007–2020)

Territorial cohesion policies are a priority for the European Union. For over thirty years, they have aimed not only to provide greater social and economic development across all European space, but also to contribute to balancing g internal social and economic inequalities. On the other hand, European institutions have adopted regional scale as the optimal to achieve this broad goal. Consequently, the ability of these policies to solve the problems faced by some of these regions has been one of the most widely researched areas in numerous scientific disciplines. This article aims to assess the impact, over a fifteen-year perspective, of cooperation funds focusing on a specific area, the cross-border, and, in particular, the border area separating Spain and France. Specifically, the analyses of data from operative programmes IV and V of the INTERREG-A projects produces contradictory results. While the aim of European institutions was to use the European Territorial Cooperation instrument to achieve a greater, better real impact of funds in cross-border areas, and to progress towards territorial cohesion, the results show that, conversely, they have largely contributed to reinforcing unequal development. In the analysed border, the dynamics are an increasing distance between the more and less developed areas in the direct border space, and a privilege of urban areas, even if they are far from the borderline. A relevant conclusion of the text is that these unexpected results are partly a consequence of the design of the European programmes.

Reusing railway infraestructures in the spirit of circular construction. A contribution to an operational concept

<p class="Abstracttext-VITRUVIO">This paper aims to be a contribution to establish a position to the reuse of obsolete railway buildings in the field of circular construction. Recent discussions argue that considering that the circular economy is only related to the use of materials or waste is a misconception. The reuse of buildings is also an issue circular architecture. The European Union itself, since 2002, supports the Programme ESPON - European Territorial Cooperation Programme, which incisively inserts obsolete buildings in the "spirit of the circular economy", giving greater attention to industrial areas undergoing change and deindustrialisation. Considering that the concepts of circular construction and circular architecture originated in the circular economy, which emerged as a way to promote and ensure urban sustainability, this article addresses in a first moment the concept of circular construction from the first documents developed in the context of sustainable development to the latest policies proposed by ESPON. It also analyses the reuse of obsolete railway spaces based on the analysis of some emblematic examples of reuse, namely the <em>Musée d'Orsay</em> and the <em>Promenade Plantée</em> in Paris. These two examples represent different types of railway infrastructure and their fate will frame the reuse of railway buildings within the concept of circular construction.</p>

Contribution of International Projects to the Development of Maritime Spatial Planning Structural Elements in the Northern Adriatic: The Experience of Slovenia

Maritime spatial planning (MSP) has been developing for years on the basis of international commitments, national legislations, and professional practices. Projects under European Territorial Cooperation have also made an important contribution to its development. They were designed to support EU countries in the implementation of MSP. The projects implemented in Slovenia always covered the entire national sea and coastal zone. In accordance with the MSP Directive, the countries of Northern Adriatic are currently preparing the first generation of maritime spatial plans, largely based on the experience and results gained from these projects. This article presents the results of research aimed at assessing the contribution of the projects to the preparation of the first plan in Slovenia. Using a descriptive research method, a detailed analysis of the results of seven projects was conducted and compared with the content of the draft plan. A comparison was made and the proportion of the results implementation in the draft plan was determined for the following structural elements: development baselines, objectives and guidelines; expert bases; stakeholders and public participation; sectoral interests; administrative competences; international dimension; and databases and analytical tools. A high degree of coherence was found, showing the obvious contribution of the projects at the methodological and structural levels.

Implementation of a seismic monitoring network of relevant and strategic public buildings in the Marche region (Italy)

A seismic monitoring infrastructure for relevant and strategic public buildings has been developed thanks to the agreement between the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) and Marche Region. The project was founded by European projects for the assessment of seismic risk for strategic public buildings, prevention and monitoring - European Territorial Cooperation Project Holistic (EU IPA-Adriatic) and READINESS (INTERREG Italy-Croatia). The project was born by taking advantage of the presence of MEMS accelerometers installed at the base of municipal buildings. The project aims to implement low-cost technologies and non-invasive methods to extend the seismic monitoring of the sites where the structures are located and characterize the seismic action in correspondence of them with a rapid estimate of the damage through relationships between acceleration and macroseismic intensity or fragility curves and construction features. Among the various activities, environmental seismic noise measurements were carried to investigate the fundamental vibration of the structures and soils, semi-automatic procedures were developed for the calculation of the strong motion parameters of seismic events and a web portal was implemented for the collection and rapid dissemination of information to local Civil Protection.An important part of the activities concerned the testing of new MEMS accelerometers through collaboration with the Polytechnic University of Marche (UNIVPM) and the headquarter of the Osservatorio Nazionale Terremoti (ONT) in Palermo. Moreover, new monitoring sites are being prepared in some municipalities affected by the 2016 seismic sequence. Since the beginning of the project, the strong motion parameters relating to 95 seismic events of magnitude greater than 3 and with ground motion accelerations greater than or equal to 0.001 g have been stored in the database.

Regionalism and multi-level politics: participation of regional actors in European projects

Political and administrative processes in Europe have changed dramatically due to deepening European integration, strengthening decentralization in the EU member states, involvement of regions in decision-making at the EU level. Aсcording to supporters of the multi-level governance (MLG), this concept, which used to have predominantly hierarchical administrative logic, is now getting political dimension being transformed into multi-level policy, and non-governmental actors are increasingly involved in policy-making process. At the same time, the regions of the EU member states show very high variability in terms of their involvement in multi-level interactions, being influenced by the power of regionalist parties, along with other factors. The analysis carried out by the method of multiple OLS regression on the empirical data of the regional actors’ participation in the implementation of INTERREG projects («European Territorial Cooperation») has verified this hypothesis. The relationships between the power of regionalist parties and involvement of the regions in multi-level interactions is most clearly traced in the countries of «old» Europe, where the power of regionalist parties affects the intensity of regional actors participation in INTERREG approximately to the same extent as the «resourcefulness» of the regions and their borderline position. In the regions of «new» Europe, the power of regionalist parties is not a statistically significant factor, and, along with the «resourcefulness» and borderline position of the regions, their lobbying opportunities in the bodies of the European Union come to the foreground.

Challenges of Cross-Border Cooperation: The Initiative of Trilateral Goričko–Raab–Őrség Nature Park

The trajectories of social actions comprising nature conservation and regional economic development in the Slovenian-Austrian-Hungarian tri-border area discussed in this paper are closely linked to the landscape of the Slovenian-Austrian-Hungarian border. Processual understanding bounds landscape to human activities and other non-human agents, all of whom constitute the landscape-in-the-making. The Őrség National Park and Goričko Landscape Park, as designated nature reserves, are subject to human influences through their protection and, as intrinsically objects of human agency, are rich sites of social production and interaction. The cross-border initiative of the Trilateral Goričko–Raab–Őrség Nature Park is analyzed through the politics of European integration and territorial cooperation in the peripheral regions and their financial programs. Through field research and interviews with social actors, the complexity of the obstacles that hinder the functioning and effective management of the actions of the proposed Trilateral Nature Park initiative and the ambivalent attitude of the inhabitants towards the actions of the three parks is observed.

A Theme-based Analysis of the Intensity of Cross-Border Cooperation Across Europe

ABSTRACT In this paper, focusing on the European Territorial Cooperation (INTERREG) example, the author compares three selected policy themes to understand what drives cross-border cooperation (CBC) in different contexts. The main argument is that cultural, economic, political, institutional, and geographical drivers of CBC play different roles in determining the intensity of CBC across different themes. To test this argument, three separate regressions are run for the policy themes of education, small and medium sized enterprises, and infrastructure. The regression results support that the intensity of CBC in each particular thematic area is driven by a unique combination of factors. This finding provides important insights on CBC policy-making in the European Union and potentially beyond. Follow-up studies can inform the design of future CBC policies and prioritization of thematic CBC interventions.

Analysis of European interregional cooperation under Interreg programmes. The case of Spain

The present article provides a detailed overview regarding the position of Spain and its Autonomous Communities in the European Territorial Cooperation (Interreg) programmes where the whole country (or some regions) are eligible. This analysis compares the presence (in terms of participation in projects funded by these programmes) of Spain, focusing on three main variables: the regional scope, that is the relative presence of each Autonomous Community, the thematic scope, in terms of the different thematic axes of the programme, and in terms of the institutional scope, in terms of the typology of participating institutions. To perform this analysis, a brand new data base has been generated, aggregating and treating data from eight different sources linked to the four programmes analysed: Interregs Europe, Atlantic, Mediterranean, and South West. Our study aims at providing a sound overview and relevant conclusions that can support, besides the academic approach, the decision-making process towards the definition of the next Interreg programming period 2021-2027, considering Spain as a key example.

The Right to Not Catch Up—Transitioning European Territorial Cohesion towards Spatial Justice for Sustainability

Recent EU environmental and spatial policies notably strive towards the development paradigm of green growth and economic competitiveness. However, operationalizing spatial policies through growth-driven GDP logics promotes an unequal race towards narrowly defined developmental ‘success’, while perpetuating social, economic and environmental inequalities. Meanwhile, the EU’s territorial cohesion approach has remained a conceptual ‘black box’, its apparent inadequacy for notably mitigating territorial disparities leading to renewed questions about territorial policy’s relevance, delivery and evaluation. In this paper, we add to calls for redesigning territorial cohesion by proposing a turn towards spatial justice for territorial sustainability. Pointing out the need to refocus on regional capabilities and alternative development trajectories, we argue that the ‘right to not catch up’ enables a more locally meaningful and globally sustainable development. Drawing from regional statistics, policy analyses and an empirical case study of three European Territorial Cooperation programs in the heterogeneous Austrian-Czech-Slovak-Hungarian border region, we illustrate how current EU spatial policy approaches evolve in regional practice and why current policy aims fall short for sustainable transformations. Through interrogating development discourses and their alternatives, we contribute to emerging new perspectives on sustainable territorial development at the European as well as at regional levels.

Cross-border cooperation on the external borders of the EU and the impact of the received EU CBC funds on AP Vojvodina/Serbia

The paper presents the various network types between municipalities/settlements within a single project program and at the level of all other analysed border programs in EU border regions that are components of European Territorial Cooperation. It also shows examples of prosperous cross-border networks (Serbia-Hungary, Serbia-Croatia, Serbia-Romania, Serbia-Bulgaria) of interested communities: what positions they have and what the weight of the border settlements is in the network of cooperation in horizontal sense. Furthermore, it discusses differences of network types of cross-border cooperation of municipalities based on financial assistance from EU, IPA funds (2007-2013) in Vojvodina/Serbia as a border region at the external border of EU. The paper tries to define its spatial differentiation on the basis of number of applications and the amount of financial aid, as well as to present different degrees of involvement of border municipalities/settlements in cross-border cooperation with the municipalities of the neighbouring EU regions.

Financial mechanism of the Ukrainian-Polish cross-border region’s development

The author's approach to the development of a conceptual model of the financial mechanism of a cross-border region’s development is substantiated. The financial mechanism is suggested to be interpreted as a set of elements of financial support of the cross-border region, the combination of which ensures achievement of targets, synergies, and cross-border effect based on monitoring, audit, and control over the use of funds. The developed approach to forming the financial mechanism of the development of the cross-border region combines target and financial parameters and reflects the sources, tools, forms, and leverages of financial support. The main sources of financial support of the Ukrainian-Polish cross-border region are 1) Ukrainian and Polish national public funds, which may come from the State Budget, as well as from state trust funds and other public entities of the public finance sector; 2) foreign public funds: from the EU budget within the framework of European Territorial Cooperation; 3) private funds (investments), which are used to co-finance projects within the system of public-private partnership. The development of cross-border cooperation is based on the use of specific forms and tools that are differentiated depending on the hierarchical level of management (European, national, regional), forms of provision, functional orientation, methods of administration, control, monitoring, and forecasting. The following main tools for implementation of the CBC program are identified: grants, projects, and large infrastructural projects. Funding in the EU, in addition to these types, can be carried out using: budget support, contributions to trust funds, mixed forms of financing, debt relief under an internationally agreed program, financial assistance, paid external expertise, etc. It is noted that monitoring is a tool of introductory (ex-ante), intermediate (ex-mid), and final (ex-post) evaluation of the implementation of the program and development projects of the cross-border region. It is stated that funding in the EU is based on the use of budget support, contributions to trust funds, mixed forms of financing, debt relief under an internationally agreed program, financial assistance, paid external expertise, etc.

Менеджмент транснациональных туристских дестинаций: пример региона Балтийского моря

The issue of tourist destination management has been widely reflected in scientific literature. However, transnational destinations, i.e. those that are located on the territory of several countries, have not been given enough attention. The development of transnational destinations can occur provided there is close cooperation among key stakeholders. In the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) conditions for effective cooperation were created at the end of the 20th century when integration processes intensified. Currently, the BSR is the first macro-region of the European Union to implement a transnational strategy, in which tourism is recognised as a development priority. Creating an effective tourist destination management system has become a key challenge in this process. This article aims to identify and critically analyse the concept of transnational tourist destination management. Another goal is to identify the changing determinants of tourism management in the BSR and to explore relations between key stakeholders. To this end, we conducted a review of literature on destination management. We carried out a critical analysis of secondary sources (documents, information materials, the Internet resources) and supplemented the review with our insights from participatory observation. We also obtained additional information from interviews. Three models of destination management were identified: marketing-oriented, planning-oriented, and governance-oriented. Our research shows that the evolution of destination management is characterised by a gradual increase in the participation of public entities. This is related to the marginalisation of the tourism industry, which resulted in a systematic decrease in state funding for maintaining destination management structures. Acquiring the European Union funds from the European Territorial Cooperation Programs has become a partial but not entirely effective solution to this problem.