The challenges of governance in cross-border cooperation: a need for systemic capacity building. Dr. Joachim Beck

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1 The challenges of governance in cross-border cooperation: a need for systemic capacity building Dr. Joachim Beck

2 Cross-border territories: the horizontal dimension of European integration Border regions represent 40% of EU territory and 30% of the EU s population Cross-border territories represent key areas, where both the positive effects of European integration as well as the remaining obstacles to integration can best be studied Cross-border territories are regions of potential and thus important catalysts for European Territorial Cohesion

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4 European support (INTERREG, EGTC, ) brought much progress Concrete projects instead of nice ideas Real partnerships with shared co-financing instead of nice meetings Integrated programmes instead of stand-alone approaches Innovative structures instead of institutional sclerosis CBC territories seen under a 360 perspective: From selective problem perception to a joint development of integrated potentials

5 Key-challenges of CBC policy-making still unresolved How to find the functional equivalence between different politico-administrative systems? How to base future action on a sound knowledge of the cross-border territory and its specific needs? How to act without substantial competences with most legal areas remaining with member states? How to turn cultural and linguistic differences into a productive interaction? How to find the right level of institutionalization, how to integrate new actors from the non-public sector? How to define and measure the added-value of the integrated cross-border action? How to overcome a limited project-approach and develop sustainable policy approaches for the cross-border territory? New quality of CBC needs systemic capacity-building

6 This requires multi-level-governance The EU-level anticipates impacts of future EU-initiatives on the cross-border territories (CBC category in the IA system) The member states support CBC actively and allow for flexible solutions to be developed on the borders ( horizontal subsidiarity : setting the frame via direct legal coordination between neighboring states in relevant policy fields) Local and regional actors develop shared cross-border services and transfer real competencies to joint crossborder bodies New division of labour between different sectorial actors

7 The vertical and horizontal dimensions of multi-level governance and subsidiarity in cross-border cooperation European level Member state A national level regional level Cross-border territory (360 perspective) Member state B national level regional level local level local level Actors: Public / semi-public / societal / private Dr. Joachim Beck, Euro-Institut

8 Open questions regarding CBC governance Real integration of private and social actors within CBC decisionmaking? Delegation of real competences to CBC functional networks? Horizontal coordination of diverse functional networks (How to built and manage a meta-network?) Future role of and change-managent within existing cbc bodies? Limiting the dependence on the national juristictions vs. increasing the embeddedness in different politico-administrative settings? Can territorial CBC development strategies be binding for sectoral and third actors? Possibilities and consequences of overcoming the principle of unanimity (double majority, yes but what for?) In the case of new types of functional cbc territories (variable geometry) : how to manage the link with classical administrative organisation and competences (administrative limits)? How to integrate/coordinate different functional rationales of different sectors (public sector, private sector, civil society) within a cbc territorial governance approach?

9 Need for a systemic CBC capacitybuilding 1.) Knowledge generation and management on a 360 basis 2.) Subsidiarity and multi-level-governance (vertical and horizontal differentiation) 3.) Shared cross-border services with joint administrative competencies 4.) Legal flexibility (experimental and opening clauses, exemptions based on de minimis rules) 5.) Applying the priciple of mutual recognition (Art ) 5.) Professionalization of actors, facilitation and active promotion 6.) CBC-territories as testing-fields for future EU-Policyinitiatives: joint participation in IA related consultations of the European Commission

10 A new actor for CBC capacity-building: TEIN as a strong and efficient network of interdisciplinary excellence on training, research and support - TEIN covers a representative sample of European cross-border regions: maritime borders, old European borders, new eastern borders, post-conflict borders, external borders, overseas borders between outermost regions.

11 The TEIN members: Exchange best practices Analyse the specificity of training and research on cross-border issues/in cross-border contexts Capitalize on and draw synergies from different territorial initiatives Work on new products like transferable training modules (training for cross-border project managers, etc.), methods (need-analysis methods in cross-border regions, etc.), tools (impact assessment toolkit, etc.), Produce valuable research in this field and ensure that newest research results are disseminated to actors involved in cross-border cooperation, Develop a European certification system on CBC training

12 The added value of the TEIN / ABER / MOT partnership approach Capacity building for CBC with actions at the level of the border (Euro-Institutes, ) supported by INTERREG A, and actions at EU level (TEIN, AEBR/CECICN SMART Cooperation report) in synergy with network programs such as Interact, INTERREG B and C etc, but also actions at national level, with tools such as MOT, CSCE: Budapest Platform Making multi-level governance really work to support a new quality of cross-border cooperation in line with the architecture of Cohesion Policy 2014/2020

13 Contact Dr. Joachim Beck Director Euro-Institut / TEIN Rehfusplatz 11 D Kehl Tel Fax Mail: beck@euroinstitut.org Thank you!

14 Selected publications of the speaker Joachim Beck, Grenzüberschreitende Zusammenarbeit als Gegenstand interdisziplinärer Forschung zur Konturierung eines wissenschaftlichen Arbeitsprogramms / La coopération transfrontalière, objet de recherche interdiciplinaire: Quelques réflexions sur un programme de travail scientifique, in: Birte Wassenberg (Hrsg.), Grenzüberschreitende Zusammenarbeit erforschen und leben (Volume 1): Les régions frontalières francaises, Steiner Verlag, 2009, pp Joachim Beck / Birte Wassenberg (Hrsg), Grenzüberschreitende Zusammenarbeit erforschen und leben (Band 2): Governance in den deutschen Grenzregionen, Stuttgart (Steiner Verlag), 2011 (363 pages) Birte Wassenberg / Joachim Beck (Hrsg.), Living and researching cross-border cooperation (Vol. 3): The European Dimension of Cross-border Cooperation, Stuttgart (Steiner Verlag), 2011 (339 pages) Birte Wassenberg / Joachim Beck (Hrsg.), Vivre et penser la coopération transfrontalière (Vol.4) : Les régions sensibles, Stuttgart (Steiner Verlag), 2011 (319 pages) Joachim Beck / Birte Wassenberg (Hrsg.), Grenzüberschreitende Zusammenarbeit erforschen und leben (Band 5), Integration und (trans)regionale Identitäten, Stuttgart (Steiner Verlag), 2013, (323 pages) Joachim Beck / Birte Wassenberg (Hrsg.), Vivre et penser la coopération transfrontalière (Vol. 6), Vers une cohésion territoriale transfrontalière, Stuttgart (Steiner Verlag) i.e. Joachim Beck, Cross-border governance and the principle of subsidiarity, in : Joachim Beck / Margot Bonnafous (Hrsg.), Perspektiven lokaler Governance in Europa / Perspectives de la gouvernance locale en Europe / Perspectives of local governance in Europe, Zürich / Baden-Baden (Dike/NOMOS), 2013, pp Joachim Beck, Prospects of Cross-Border Cooperation in Europe: Capacity-Building and the Operating Principle of Horizontal Subsidiarity, in: International Public Administration Review, Volume XI/March 2013, pp 7-24