The key stages in the evolution of cross-border cooperation in the EU

The 1950s marked the onset of cross-border cooperation. At that time, local authorities across Europe were actively seeking ways to overcome the socio-economic problems that had arisen as a result of the Second World War and the subsequent crisis.

Particular attention was paid to problems specific to regions in different countries and how they could be addressed jointly. Germany, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Luxembourg were the most active in this regard.

To support regions in pursuing growth through cooperation with neighbours across borders, the Council of Europe established the European Conference of Local Authorities in 1957.

This provided local authorities with a regular platform to discuss pressing issues relating to economic development and fundamental rights and freedoms, including the role of their interaction within the framework of cross-border cooperation.

During the Conference sessions, a draft of the intergovernmental agreement was drawn up to allow local and regional authorities to formalise relations with adjacent regions in neighbouring countries for the first time ever, in accordance with existing national legislation.

In the wake of this, the local authorities of the Dutch provinces of Gelderland, Overijessel, and Drenthe and German lands of NorthRhine Westphalia and Lower Saxony held the world’s first cross-border conference in 1958.

Following its conclusion, they set up associations of local authorities on either side of the border. These associations were the main driving forces behind the development of cross-border cooperation and the establishment here of the first CBC institutionalised form – the Euroregion.

It was these events that paved the way for the flourishing of the CBC in the EU and the development of its many other forms and types, as you will learn from our forthcoming posts.

You can find out more about the CBC in Europe:

on the European Commission’s website https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/policy/cooperation/european-territorial/cross-border_en https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/policy/cooperation/european-territorial/survey-2020_en

in the Council of Europe’s legislative documents: https://rm.coe.int/1680078b0c

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.