Other Euroregions
The political and political breakthrough in 1989 between the countries of Central Europe made it possible to establish cross-border cooperation and its institutionalization.
In cross-border cooperation, the following should be mentioned:
- cross-border cooperation,
- Euroregional cooperation.
Cross-border cooperation is any joint action taken to strengthen and develop neighborly contacts between communities and territorial authorities of two or more parties and is a concept broader than Euroregional cooperation.
Czym jest euroregion?
Euroregion
- institutionalized formal relationship, concluded between state or local government organizations, or informal, created by professional or scientific associations for the cooperation of border areas,
- a formalized structure of cross-border cooperation between regional or local government entities, possibly with the participation of economic and social partners,
- agreement of neighboring border regions on cross-border cooperation,
local institutionalization of cross-border cooperation with full recognition of state borders and laws in force in countries participating in the creation of a given euroregion, - a cross-border structure associating associations of administrative unions of individual areas within it for the purpose of mutual cooperation,
- a cross-border organization whose framework is determined by similar problems, the intertwining of relations, as well as the readiness for cooperation of individual units and local institutions.
Euroregion - is a formal structure of cross-border cooperation bringing together representatives of the local and regional level, as well as, in justified cases, the social partners. They are legal entities that set goals and have extensive possibilities of action.
Euroregional cooperation areas
- border areas (border, border); area and zone,
- border area, border area, cross-border area,
- region,
- border region (border, border),
- cross-border region,
- euroregion.
Border area - a strip up to 100 km from the border
Border zone - a strip of 20-30 km from the border
Border zone - a strip of 2-6 km from the border
Necessary road strip - 15-100 m from the border
Border area, border area and cross-border area - these are terms of a similar meaning. It is understood as the area adjacent (in the vicinity) to the border on both sides.
A region is understood as a separated, relatively homogeneous area, distinguished from the adjacent areas by natural or acquired features.
A border region (border, border) is an area located on one side of the border.
A cross-border region is an area located on both sides of the border.
Institutions and organizations supporting the functioning of Euroregions
An important role in cross-border cooperation on Poland's borders is played by:
- International institutions and organizations, including the Council of Europe and the European Union,
- International non-governmental organizations supported in solidarity by the Council of Europe and the European Union,
- Intergovernmental and national commissions (committees) and offices dealing with the problems of this cooperation.
Cooperation of border regions has been one of the European Union's priorities for many years. The Community Commission and the European Commission provide financial assistance to border regions under a special INTERREG program. In 1994, the Committee of the Regions was established as an advisory body to the Council of Europe and the European Commission, and at the same time as a representation of local and regional authorities from the European Union Member States.
SERG
In order to increase their role in European cooperation, the regions created an international non-governmental organization - the Association of European Border Regions (AEBR) . The seat of the Association is the city of Gronau in West Germany.
The tasks of the SERD include in particular:
- Implementation of joint programs and projects, applying for funds, depositing and disposing of them,
- Organizing events related to the issues of cross-border cooperation,
- Participation in solving cross-border problems and supporting particularly important, model initiatives,
- Preparation and implementation of joint actions,
- Development of the "center of European border and cross-border regions" in close cooperation with the European Union and the Council of Europe,
- Informing politicians and the public in Europe about issues of cross-border cooperation.
Euroregional cooperation is an important instrument for creating new interstate and interregional relations in Europe.
The basis of the new legal infrastructure of bilateral relations are multilateral (international) agreements, in which one of the most important principles is the establishment and development of various forms of cross-border cooperation.
Agreements drawn up and adopted by international institutions, in particular by the Council of Europe or the Association of European Border Regions (AEBR), are of particular importance for cross-border cooperation in Polish border regions. The group of these contracts mainly includes:
- The 1980 European Framework Convention on Cross-Border Cooperation between Communities and Territorial Authorities, known for short as the Madrid Convention,
- The European Charter of Border and Cross-Border Regions of 1981,
- European Charter of Local Self-Government of 1985
- 1997 European Charter of Regional Self-Government
- European Framework Convention on Cross-Border Cooperation between Communities and Territorial Authorities adopted by the Council of Europe in 1980 in Madrid.
The financing of cooperation is specified in the statutes of the Euroregions. Euroregion members are obliged to cooperate in financing its activities in the agreed amount and form. These funds are kept in separate accounts and come from sources such as:
- membership fees paid by the participants of the Euroregional Agreement, contributions from supporting members, gifts, etc.,
- other sources of financing:
- subventions of higher-level administrative units, including regional and central funds (e.g. when paying membership fees to AEBR),
- funds from European Union aid programs
Euroregions on the borders of Poland
Despite many previous initiatives regarding cooperation between border regions - e.g. in the field of the so-called small tourism, cross-border trade, transfer of labor, industrial cooperation as well as attempts to develop the Odra River - in Poland, a permanent increase in the possibility of cross-border cooperation has been observed since the beginning of the 1990s, which is closely related to the political transformation. In the practical sphere, it manifests itself in the creation and operation of 16 Euroregions on the Polish borders.
The establishment of the first Nysa Euroregion on the borders of Poland and Central and Eastern Europe in 1991 was of particular importance for the Euroregions emerging on the German-Polish and Polish-Czech border. cross-border cooperation The Euroregion Nysa, like the other 3 Euroregions on the western border (Pomerania ", Pro Europa Viadrina", and Sprewa-Nysa-Bóbr "), has a model significance for the creation of various forms of cross-border cooperation on the Polish borders.
The emergence of cross-border regions
The favorable political changes of recent years also create new opportunities for rapprochement and mutual coordination of development and the renewal of interregional and local ties in the southern borderland. The border with the Czech Republic and Slovakia has also become the border between the countries associated with the European Union. It is also the internal border of the Visegrad Group countries and the internal border within the Free Trade Area (CEFTA) created by this grouping.
On the eastern border, the Euroregional cooperation is the most advanced with Ukraine, which resulted in the establishment of the first Bug Euroregion in Eastern Europe in September 1995.
In the northern borderland, the first initiatives to provide institutional forms for cross-border cooperation appeared in 1997. As a result of intensive organizational work by local and regional communities in the border areas of the Baltic states, in February 1998 an agreement was signed in Malbork to establish the Baltic Euroregion, covering the border areas of Poland, Denmark, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia (Kalingrad District) and Sweden.
Chronology of the creation of Euroregions
- "Nysa" December 21, 1991
- "Karpacki" February 14, 1993
- "Sprewa-Nysa-Bóbr" September 21, 1993
- "Pro Europa Viadrina" December 21, 1993
- "Tatry" August 26, 1994
- "Bug" September 29, 1995
- "Pomerania" December 15, 1995
- "Glacensis" December 5, 1996
- "Niemen" June 6, 1997
- "Pradziad" on July 2, 1997
- "Bałtyk" February 22, 1998
- "Cieszyn Silesia" April 22, 1998
- "Silesia" September 20, 1998
- "Beskidy" February 18, 2000
- "Puszcza Białowieska", May 2002
- "Euroregion Łyna-Ława", September 2003
