cuisine and folklore to holidays and external relations; with the double citizenship regime in Hungary even the EU border is doubled). The region where several different groups live together has been a constant frontier zone for centuries, a contested landscape by all the neighboring nations. By the changing geopolitical situation from the early 90ies (end of bipolar world, fall of communism, destruction of Yugoslavia, appearance of EU and NATO in the region etc.) new ways of influencing and asserting interests as well as new actors appeared (sub-state level politics, NGO’s and civil organizations, enterprises, municipalities etc.). In their paper the authors focus on the above mentioned bordering and crossbordering processes at the external border of the EU from a Hungarian perspective (Research supported by OTKA 75624).
Session code: Session title:
Organizer(s):
S03 – Room B1 Breaking down boundaries: geographers for a new geography of Europe Andrea Natalini, AGAT (Italy) Nicola Franceschi, AGAT (Italy)
Slots and abstracts:
SLOT 1 (Parallel Session 4) Chair: Andrea Natalini (Associazione Geografica per l’Ambiente e il Territorio) and Nicola Franceschi, (Associazione Geografica per l’Ambiente e il Territorio) Presentation 1 Author(s): Lauranne Jacob, University of Grenoble Alps, France / University of Geneva, Switzerland). André Suchet (University of Grenoble Alps, France). Title: Crossborder coopérations: the geographer and territorial reorganizations Abstract: During the last ten years, European cohesion policies (social and economic) were reinforced particularly in the field of territorial cohesion. Territorial cooperations, in particular cross-border cooperations, have been provided with specific funds (Interreg), but also legal tools (Madrid Convention and EU Regulation). For a long time actors have justified their lack of cross-border cooperation by blaming legal obstacles. In 2006, in order to overcome the obstacles hindering territorial cooperation, the European Union proposed a legal instrument: the EGTC (European Grouping for Territorial Cooperation). The EGTC allows the creation of crossborder institutions, which are legal entities in their own right, for developing and implementing territorial cohesion policies at cross-border, transnational and interregional levels. The number of EGTCs created, however, is small compared to the number of existing cross-border cooperations. We believe that the solution lies not only in law but is also a question of geography, specifically a question of territory; the fundamental question is how to delimit the social, political and spatial boundaries of a crossborder cooperation. The geographer, in a perspective of « action research », can help actors to delimit the boundaries of their cross-border project (studying the processes of territorial reorganization, deterritorialisation, reterritorialisation process). The territorial project, however, doesn’t know the limits of administrative territories. In border issues the question of administrative divisions and administrative competencies is crucial and involves the implementation of complex cross-border governance. The geographer must either work with political scientists and lawyers or draw on their expertise to overcome this obstacle. Presentation 2 Author(s): Mátyás Jaschitz, CESCI & ELTE (Hungary) Title: The key factor for a successful territorial cohesion: cross-border cooperation – How can some EU instruments make a new geography? Abstract: The future of European cohesion policy is about to be prepared and discussed: The main novelty is the conception of territorial cohesion, which can only be achieved by the effective integrated development of the (inner) peripheral border areas. To serve this territorial continuity and connection better there are some innovative instruments for the planners and policy-makers. The study will describe the cross-border spatial planning possibilities of the EGTC (European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation) tool. It will estimate how it can contribute to the regeneration of the spatial connections and local economic development in border areas. As a result of an innovative and efficient regional policy, the geography of border areas is changing very dynamically. The study will try to answer how this social, spatial, economic and political phenomena can be analysed by geographical methods; and what the role and the importance of geographers is in this new European “space making” process. 83