European perspective

Local communities and authorities located alongside international borders often face problems and issues directly related to the presence of the border. Effective handling of such problems requires the development of joint cross-border strategies. Cross-border cooperation is a concerted process of building neighbourly relationships between local stakeholders and authorities on either side of a border, with a view to overcoming such problems and fostering harmonious development of neighbouring communities.

This toolkit is the fifth in a series of toolkits developed by ISIG and the Council of Europe. The current toolkit looks at how to carry out feasibility studies, how to initiate and finance cross-border projects, what types of obstacles may arise and how these can be overcome, and how to nurture a cross-border friendly environment. Moreover, the toolkit presents four cross-border cooperation case-studies and their interconnections.