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Cross-border
economic
development
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Cross-cutting themes in cross-border economic development
Strategies
The cornerstone of public action in the area of cross-border economic
development, a strategy is an opportunity to determine a territory’s
potentialities and strengths and weaknesses (i.e. conduct a situational
analysis) and make policy choices in respect of public support for
economic development.
“Strategies” in the plural denotes the potential coexistence of several
different strategies relating to cross-border economic development.
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These may be “border region strategies”
(economic
development strategies drawn up by a territory that take account
of the potentialities of territories situated on the other side of the
border and adapt public action accordingly)
or “cross-border
strategies”
(strategies drawn up jointly by players located on
either side of the border, thus involving public action based
on synergies between the two sides). Cross-border strategies
obviously require a higher degree of political cooperation than
purely “border region” strategies.
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They may be multi-level strategies
(spanning various territorial
levels)
or they may involve just one territorial level.
These
strategies may relate to economic development in a narrow
sense or they may cover broader aspects – e.g. addressing
the conditions governing such development (planning and
development strategies).
Establishment of SRDEIIs
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in
France under the “NOTRe Act”
In border regions, it is essential to establish economic development
mechanisms that unilaterally take account of neighbouring border
territories (by means of “border region strategies” that help the territory’s
businesses to take advantage of cross-border opportunities).
The NOTRe Act also provides: “In border regions, the plan may contain
a cross-border component drawn up in cooperation with the territorial
authorities of neighbouring countries.”
The option to consult with neighbouring authorities allows the
development of a genuine cross-border strategy (with the strategy
documents drawn up by those foreign authorities being amended
accordingly).
Of course, cross-border action does not mean the abandonment of
purely unilateral “border region” action aimed at supporting cross-
border economic development.
This is linked to the concept of “co-opetition”, a notion developed notably
by the OECD which explains crossborder economic development as a
combination of cooperation and competition. This concept is relevant
in terms of strategies guiding public action, since their main aim is to
develop cooperation within a competitive environment.
Towards regional cross-
border innovation strategies
The cross-border economic governance structures referred to in the
previous chapter only make sense if they operate within the context
of strategies – for example, innovation strategies.
Since all European regions have their own regional innovation strategies,
as these are required by the EU, this could give rise to joint cross-
border initiatives.
Under the cohesion policy
for the period 2014-2020,
structural funds
are primarily used to target 11 thematic objectives derived from the
Europe 2020 strategy, which was adopted by the European Commission
in 2010 to promote smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.
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Regional economic development, innovation and internationalisation plans.
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