May 1, 2026
We are continuing our series of posts in the framework of the UCORD project. Today, we focus on cross-border cooperation in the EU.
The concept of cross-border cooperation (CBC) as a form of interaction with neighbouring countries at a sub-national level emerged in Europe shortly after the end of the Second World War, when it was necessary to find ways to overcome economic, political, and cultural differences, as well as physical borders.
The initial impetus for Europe’s regions and communities to seek opportunities for socio-economic growth through cooperation with their neighbours across borders came with the establishment of the Council of Europe in 1949.
Its mission was to develop a Europe without borders based on the fundamental values of the rule of law, respect for human rights, and democracy.
After a decade of establishing interpersonal contacts and links between local and regional authorities, these relationships were formalised for the first time in the late 1950s.
That period marked the emergence of regional entities that encompassed actors on different sides of borders across Europe, which later became Euroregions.
These pioneering regions were Euroregio on the German-Dutch border, Regio Basiliensis on the French-German-Swiss border, and SaarLorLux on the French-German-Luxembourg border.
The emergence of these first institutionalised forms is regarded as the starting point for the CBC boom in Europe.
The concept of cross-border cooperation was formally defined by the Council of Europe in 1980 European Outline Convention on Transfrontier Co-operation between Territorial Communities or Authorities.
Over its 60-year history, CBC has evolved into one of the most important areas for ensuring socio-economic growth in the EU.
And in the current programming period (2021–2027), CBC is part of the European Territorial Cooperation policy, designed to ensure the implementation of the objectives of the Cohesion Policy.
Under the CBC, the EU supports the interaction between regions (at the 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.
In this way, the EU helps to address challenges common to border regions across different countries, with a view to better realising their growth potential. The main areas of investment in cooperation between neighbouring regions are innovation, healthcare, education, employment, and labour mobility.
Support is provided through 73 specific programmes, 49 of which are designed exclusively for internal regions, while the remainder also cover regions in neighbouring and partner countries.
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:
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