Regional Governance in der grenzüberschreitenden Zusammenarbeit

Abstract

Since 1990, cross-border cooperation in the European Union (EU) has been funded by the INTERREG programs. The planning and implementation of INTERREG projects, as well as the preparation of regional development strategies in each INTERREG program area, involves state and non-state actors. The different institutional frameworks of the EU and the participating nations makes cross-border cooperation a complex task of coordination. This article aims to clarify the role of INTERREG in the development of cross-border governance in the Lake Constance area. The main influence of INTERREG up until Funding Phase III (2000–2006) can be seen in the involvement of new actors from economics and civil society. In the subsequent funding phase (IV), which introduced strict and detailed guidelines for project application and implementation, thus complicating access to INTERREG funding, the involvement of new non-state actors in INTERREG projects seems to be declining. Today, the most important actor in cross-border cooperation is the International Lake Constance Conference (IBK), which is also supported by INTERREG funding. Although, IBK moderately institutionalized its structure in recent years, currently there are no cross-border institutions that would be able to solve severe cross-border conflicts, e.g. aircraft noise in southern Germany caused by the airport in Zurich. In addition, the large number of cross-border institutions sometimes leads to redundancies and inefficiencies in the governance of the Lake Constance area. However, since the region is not as peripheral as some other European regions, the dependence on public funds such as INTERREG is not as essential as may be the case elsewhere.

English Title: Regional Governance in Crossborder Collaborations – An Analysis of the “INTERREG IV Programm Alpenrhein-Bodensee-Hochrhein”

Notes

1 Dieser Artikel basiert auf der Masterarbeit des Erstautors am Geographischen Institut der Universität Zürich (Zäch 2012).

2 Die «Bodensee Agenda 21» war ein IBK-Projekt von 1999 bis 2010 zur nachhaltigen Entwicklung der Bodenseeregion und wurde durch INTERREG gefördert (vgl. http://www.bodenseekonferenz.org/BA21).

3 Modellvorhaben der Raumordnung (MORO) ist ein Aktionsprogramm des Bundesinstituts für Bau-, Stadt- und Raumforschung (BBSR) in Deutschland. Kurzbeschrieb des Projektes: http://www.bbsr.bund.de/cln_032/nn_1299336/BBSR/DE/FP/MORO/Forschungsfelder/2008/UeberregionalePartnerschaften/Bodensee.html#doc273336bodyText3.

Additional information

Christian Zäch, MSc Geogr., ist seit 2013 wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter in der Gruppe Regionalökonomie und -entwicklung an der Eidgenössischen Forschungsanstalt für Wald, Schnee und Landschaft WSL. Er interessiert sich für regionale GovernanceProzesse sowie Fragestellungen der Raumentwicklung, insbesondere in ländlichen Regionen.

Marco Pütz, Dr. oec. publ., Dipl.-Geogr., leitet seit 2006 die Gruppe Regionalökonomie und -entwicklung an der Eidgenössischen Forschungsanstalt für Wald, Schnee und Landschaft WSL. Seine Forschungsschwerpunkte sind Environmental Governance, Regional Governance, Stadtund Regionalökonomie, Raumentwicklung sowie Anpassung an den Klimawandel.