European perspective

The study focuses on the capacity of the EGTC to implement participatory governance patterns, while taking into account the obstacles and (national) borders that run counter to this objective. Alongside the multilevel presence of various administrative and public actors, this legal instrument also operates in favour of the local dimension and is able to act on behalf of local and regional citizens.

In this context, the EGTC can be understood as a cross-border, suprarregional institutional framework that serves the implementation of bottom-up Euroregional policies initiated by civil society and citizens. It strives to establish an everyday, international, cross-border “living laboratory” representing solidarity and reconciliation, thereby contributing to the creation and strengthening of a Europe of cross-border regions.

Within the framework of the study, an analytical model of participatory governance in cross-border regions in the EU is presented and applied to a brief analysis of four EGTC case studies: the Galicia–North of Portugal EGTC; the South Tyrol–Tyrol–Trentino EGTC; the Strasbourg–Ortenau EGTC; and the emerging TransOderana EGTC.