Challenges and issues of spatial planning in the European Union: European vision and supraregional co-operation

Abstract

The European Union is promoting a policy of balanced and sustainable spatial development planning. Spatial planning ministers have recently adopted a spatial development perspective for the European Union territory, which is proposing a spatial vision for the entire Union territory. One of the issues to be raised is the possible link with the other planning levels, in particular with the regional level strongly advocated in Interreg programmes, the European Union providing financial support to many transborder and/or supra-regional co-operation concerning studies as well as projects. Within this framework, this article is questioning the relevance and the reality of such co-operation activities by analysing one of them, the Euroregion. Which capacities have the five regions of the Euroregion (the three Belgian regions, Nord-Pas de Calais and Kent) to articulate their policy of spatial planning strategy, and to get to a transborder or supra-regional vision, which seems relevant to optimise the assets of these regions in accordance with the trend towards a concentration of activities and mainly of the leading hubs in the surrounding major cities?A critical scrutiny of competency levels in spatial planning and analysis of the spatial planning strategic scheme in each of the five regions of the Euroregion highlight imbalances between the various stakeholders, differences in the objectives, lack of co-ordination, as well as lack of supra-regional vision.However, this vision and how it fits into a European vision, is necessary, and often wished for, but if we want to go beyond a mere wish some prerequisites will have to be met.Finally, this whole process seems to point to progressive changes in territorial organisation.