Border Regions and the EU: The Role of INTERREG on the Cross-Border Integration Process in the Greater Region and in the Central European Region (Centrope) – A Comparison.

Nikolas Westenhoff

Master's thesis

Abstract:

The following thesis, aims to uncover the dynamics of the integration process between European border region and intends to find out the specific role of the INTERREG-initiative on this integration process. Border regions in the European Union are finding themselves in particular circumstances. Under the four freedoms and the existence of the internal market, national borders are said to have marginalized in their meaning. It witnessed a steady increase of territorial flows from one side of the border to the other. Moreover, it witnessed cooperation between policy-makers between those regions in order to manage the increase of flows. It thus is claimed that border regions are also finding themselves in a process of continuing integration. This paper wants to uncover the dynamics of this process, in order to find out which factors are actually driving the process of cross-border integration. Moreover, it wants to find out the role of EU-policy in this development. With the INTERREG initiative, the European Commission developed a specific toll for cross-border cooperation. The effects of this tool will be analyzed and it will be claimed that the role of INTERREG on cross-border integration can be quite significant. The thesis will in that regard, apply a multi-dimensional analytical framework, developed by Wong Villanueva et Al. (2022) to investigate cross-border integration in the Greater Region and the Centrope region.

Keywords

cross-border integration, cross-border cooperation, EU, cohesion policy, INTERREG

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 14. 9. 2023

Thesis defence

• Date of defence: 14. 8. 2023

Masaryk University

Faculty of Social Studies

Master programme / field:
European Governance / European Governance