April 23, 2026
We are continuing our series of posts in the framework of the UCORD project. Today, we focus on European Territorial Cooperation (ETC).
The ETC is one of the objectives of the Cohesion Policy that addresses issues common to EU countries and regions and to neighbouring countries and partners, and boosts the potential of territories by removing the barrier effect of borders.
Put simply, the ETC aims to create opportunities for people to communicate, work, study, and spend time together across borders; for children in border regions to attend the same school, make friends, and grow up bilingual; for students and teachers to collaborate on projects that will contribute to the development of the entire EU; for entrepreneurs to work together to bring innovative products and services to market; and for public authorities to share resources and expertise to improve people’s standard of living.
The ETC concept began to take shape in the EU as early as the 1990s. Since 2007, it has officially evolved into one of the goals of the Cohesion Policy. The 2014–2020 programming period marked the first time that a legislative framework for the ETC was established.
In 2021–2027, the ETC comprises four levels (strands):
- cross-border cooperation covers regions (at NUTS 3 level) in at least two EU Member States located directly on the borders (land and maritime) or adjacent to them, or regions in at least one EU Member State and third countries;
- transnational cooperation covers regions of several EU Member States and territories around sea basins;
- interregional cooperation covers regions of all EU Member States and partner countries;
- cooperation in the outermost regions covers geographically distant territories that form part of EU Member States, as well as their neighbours and partners.
Around €8 billion has been allocated to the ETC for the current programming period. Cross-border cooperation accounts for over 70% of this amount.
Find out more about the ETC:
on the European Commission’s website https://lnkd.in/d9zs33B7
in the European Parliament’s factsheets https://lnkd.in/dE9Jc3aw
and from the relevant current legislation https://lnkd.in/dTDQ-CTg
The project is part of the Regional Future programme, which is funded by the Swiss-Ukrainian project Ukraine’s Cohesion and Regional Development (UCORD) and implemented by NIRAS Sweden AB with the support of Switzerland The UCORD project is being implemented by NIRAS Sweden AB with the support of Switzerland.