European Union Tools for the Sustainable Development of Border Regions

Abstract

The European Union uses several instruments aimed at reducing disparities between regions and strengthening their competitiveness and sustainability. The border regions have a special relevance, given their position and characteristics, as well as the challenges faced by local actors. The European Commission has introduced the action “b-solutions” to tackle the specific border obstacles along European Union internal borders. The article aims to analyze the integration mechanisms at the micro-regional level, which is considered as a viable and sustainable solution for cross-border regions with resources which can be exploited to attract investment and generate wealth and well-being. The qualitative analysis method involved consulting thematic publications of the b-solution program and extracting data from the presentation sheets of accepted proposals published by the Association of European Border Regions. The collected data were processed according to criteria such as direction of action, types and causes of obstacles, solutions proposed by experts, etc. Addressing the legal and administrative obstacles that hamper cross-border flows proved to be a good initiative, with 120 cases selected. The solutions offered to the particular cases can also be replicated for other obstacles identified at the European Union’s internal borders so that cooperation between border regions is intensified to the benefit of increasing European territorial, economic, and social cohesion.