The Journal of Comparative Economic Studies, Vol. 2, 2006, pp. 59–80. Carpathian Euroregion and Cross-Border Governance 59 Carpathian Euroregion and Cross-Border Governance Hiroshi TANAKA * * Ritsumeikan University, Japan;
[email protected] Abstract: The Carpathian Euroregion (CE), which was established in 1993, is a cross-border regional coopera- tion that comprises eighteen regions within five non-EU member states in Eastern Europe. The CE was ex- pected to become a forerunner as an East-East Euroregion. After a decade development, the CE’s positive impact on regional security and the development of various kinds of communication can be observed; however, its negative aspects are also reflected, such as the insufficient cross-border governance that results from its for- mal structural characteristics, its large size, its scarce financial resources, the ambiguity of authority, its histori- cal inheritances, as well as its hypoplastic identity. The CE’s economy remains fragmented and considerably backward. As yet, there is no consensus regarding the future image of the CE. Keywords: EU, Carpathian Euroregion cross-border governance, regional cooperation JEL Classification Numbers: F59, H75, N94, P52, R58 1. Introduction The Carpathian Euroregion (herein referred to as the CE)1 was founded in 1993 as a cross-border regional cooperation between Poland, Slovakia, the Ukraine, Hungary and Romania. It was expected to be a forerunner as an East-East Euroregion in Eastern Europe. The CE differs from the Western Euroregion in that it includes several types of countries: non-EU member coun- tries, quickly acceding candidate countries such as Poland and Hungary, slowly acceding countries such as Slovakia and Romania, and one non-candidate country, the Ukraine, which at the beginning of the 1990s, was deemed unlikely to join the European Union (EU) in the foresee- able future.