Programmatic support to regional cohesion The Community Initiative concerning trans-European cooperation intended to encourage harmonious and balanced development of the European territory (Interreg) was adopted by the European Commission in 1990 to prepare border areas for a European Community without internal frontiers.
The aim of the initiative was “that national borders should not be a barrier to the balanced development and integration of the European territory” (EC, 2004, p. 1). The cooperation is based on the existence of shared interest across geographical features such as borders, sea basins and the EU periphery. Interreg thus represents one of the strategic interventions of large multi-annual programmes by the European Community to implement its Cohesion Policy, which although rooted in the Treaty of Rome was first expressed in regulation in the Single European Act of 1988. The Cohesion Policy has been described as “the market’s visible hand which aims at balanced and sustainable development while fostering economic integration throughout the EU as a whole” (Hübner, 2008, p. 2). This highlights the policy as a model of multi-level governance involving local and regional actors representing civil society, academia and public sector, while safeguarding compliance with other Community policies (such as relevant agro-environmental EC Directives). Already in the first years of Interreg it was observed that many actors outside public administration got involved (Goulet, 2008). Each programme refers to its programme document which sets out the official priorities as agreed between the EC and member states (MSs). The project portfolio is the way through which programmes seek to operationalise the political objectives into the everyday activities of stakeholders. The programme committees, which make funding decisions on project applications, are composed of country representatives. The programmes operate according to their specific objectives with reference to the regional cohesion goals, but country representatives can bring in national perspectives and expectations. Representatives can be national level government officials, sub-national officials, or interest groups.
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