Soft territorial cooperation -
that is spontaneous, outside EU frameworks - helps achieve the
principles of territorial cohesion policy in partnership and
subsidiarity and it may lead to the adoption of strategic
integrated territorial development strategies regarding
functional areas.
Furthermore, it is a form of cooperation that helps to widen the
range of actors involved in the planning and implementation of
policy, assisting public authorities at all geographical levels
in promoting functional integration.
These were the findings of a research project by the ESPON study
programme, which specializes in regional analyses, and which
analysed 12 soft territorial cooperation initiatives across
Europe.
This type of cooperation, the researchers explain, happens in
the whole of Europe, at the level of macro-regions (like those
of the Baltic Sea, the Danube, the Alps and the Adriatic-Ionian
region), in trans-border functional areas (Euregio Tyrol-Alto
Adige-Trentino), in metropolitan regions and in rural areas.
The advantage of soft territorial cooperation initiatives is
that of having 'open' borders and therefore being able to
develop at various geographical levels with the aim of reaching
functional integration.
In other words, the territory of cooperation is not a predefined
geographical unit, but varies each time according to the areas
that are relevant for the issues identified by the stakeholders.
Soft territorial cooperation does not set itself up as an
alternative to 'hard' cooperation, but rather is a complement to
it.
Structured forms of cooperation are stable over time and can
have a greater democratic legitimacy, while soft ones are often
useful to involve a wider range of actors in territorial
governance.
A fundamental element of soft cooperation forms is the fact that
they help plan and implement result-oriented solutions,
solutions to which the actors involved have developed a sense of
belonging.
The starting point for soft cooperation initiatives is, in the
majority of cases, the existence of a community of purpose.
Their experimental nature further enables them to act outside
traditional frameworks, for example via joint actions by public
and private bodies, at various levels.
The European principle of territorial cohesion, the researchers
observe, can be pursued via the systematic promotion of soft
territorial cooperation at all geographical levels.
On this basis, the existing solutions to combine financial
instruments with structural funds and European investments could
be further developed to facilitate the implementation of
strategies identified by soft territorial cooperation
initiatives.
Indeed, earmarking funds for soft territorial cooperation allows
cohesion policy to be less restricted by administrative confines
and to be closer to the needs of European citizens and
businesses.
(photo: Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio meets his
Austrian counterpart Alexander Schallenberg)
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