BORDERS IN PERSPECTIVE UniGR-CBS Thematic Issue 1/2018 Cross-Border Territorial Development – Challenges and Opportunities TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITÄT KAISERSLAUTERN Beate Caesar, Karina Pallagst (Eds.) EDITORS Beate Caesar and Karina Pallagst Faculty of Spatial and Environmental Planning Technische Universität Kaiserslautern Germany, 2018 2 UniGR-Center for Border Studies CENTRE EUROPEEN D’ETUDES SUR LES FRONTIERES EUROPÄISCHES ZENTRUM FÜR GRENZRAUMFORSCHUNG EN The UniGR-CBS is a thematic cross-border network of approximately 80 researchers within the university grouping University of the Greater Region (UniGR) conducting research on borders, their meanings and chal- lenges. Due to its geographical position in the “heart of Europe”, its expertise and disciplinary diversity, the UniGRCBS has the best prerequisites for becoming a European network of excellence. For the creation of a “European Center for Competence and Knowledge in Border Studies”, the Interreg VA Greater Region pro- gram provides the UniGR-CBS network with approximately EUR 2 million ERDF funding between 2018 and 2020. Within this project, the UniGR-CBS aims at developing harmonized research tools, embedding Border Studies in teaching, promoting the dialogue on cross-border challenges between academia and institutional actors and supporting the spatial development strategy of the Greater Region. FR L’UniGR-CBS est un réseau transfrontalier et thématique qui réunit environ 80 chercheuses et chercheurs des universités membres de l’Université de la Grande Région (UniGR) spécialistes des études sur les fron- tières, leurs significations et enjeux. Grâce à sa position géographique au « cœur de l’Europe », à sa capacité d’expertise et à la diversité des disciplines participantes, l’UniGR-CBS revêt tous les atouts d’un réseau d’ex- cellence européen. L’UniGR-CBS bénéficie d’un financement d’environ 2 M € FEDER pendant trois ans dans le cadre du programme INTERREG VA Grande Région pour mettre en place le Centre européen de res- sources et de compétences en études sur les frontières. Via ce projet transfrontalier, le réseau scientifique UniGR-CBS créera des outils de recherche harmonisés. Il œuvre en outre à l’ancrage des Border Studies dans l’enseignement, développe le dialogue entre le monde scientifique et les acteurs institutionnels autour d’enjeux transfrontaliers et apporte son expertise à la stratégie de développement territorial de la Grande Région. DE Das UniGR-CBS ist ein grenzüberschreitendes thematisches Netzwerk von rund 80 Wissenschaftlerin- nen und Wissenschaftlern der Mitgliedsuniversitäten des Verbunds Universität der Großregion (UniGR), die über Grenzen und ihre Bedeutungen sowie Grenzraumfragen forschen. Dank seiner geographischen Lage „im Herzen Europas“, hoher Fachkompetenz und disziplinärer Vielfalt verfügt das UniGR-CBS über alle Vo- raussetzungen für ein europäisches Exzellenz-Netzwerk. Für den Aufbau des Europäischen Kompetenz- und Wissenszentrums für Grenzraumforschung wird das Netzwerk UniGR-CBS drei Jahre lang mit knapp 2 Mio. Euro EFRE-Mitteln im Rahmen des INTERREG VA Großregion Programms gefördert. Im Laufe des Projekts stellt das UniGR-Netzwerk abgestimmte Forschungswerkzeuge bereit, verankert die Border Studies in der Lehre, entwickelt den Dialog zu grenzüberschreitenden Themen zwischen wissenschaftlichen und instituti- onellen Akteuren und trägt mit seiner Expertise zur Raumentwicklungsstrategie der Großregion bei. 3 Content Foreword Marie-Josée Vidal (MDDI Luxembourg) 5 Editorial Beate Caesar and Karina Pallagst 7 Spatial Development Concepts – A cross-border planning instrument with a future?! Experiences from the German borderlands Beate Caesar and Karina Pallagst 9 Cross-border territorial cooperation in non-EU member countries – Evidence from Albania and Switzerland Alys Solly, Erblin Berisha and Giancarlo Cotella 21 Safeguarding services in health provision and health care in rural border areas – An investigation using the example of the Greater Region Kirsten Mangels and Robert Riethmüller 38 Steering the cross-border transport development in the cross-border region between Brandenburg and Lubuskie Beate Caesar 51 Spatial integration of cross-border mobility structures – The ‘space-time-line’ analysis in the Greater Region and the Czech-Bavarian border region Tobias Chilla and Anna Heugel 68 The European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation: Challenges and Opportunities for the German-Polish cooperation – The case of the TransOderana EGTC (under construction) Peter Ulrich 79 4 Foreword Marie-Josée Vidal (MDDI Luxembourg) For many years, border territories have been ne- also stirs up anxiety: migratory pressure, in- glected and have suffered from a lack of develop- creased competition and socio-economic dispar- ment because they were seen as hostile barriers ities. This, in turn, gives birth to a range of new between citizens, cultures and languages. Follow- obstacles of an administrative, legal, financial or ing the introduction of the free movement of institutional nature. goods, services, capital and people (the “four free- In order to take advantage of the opportunities of- doms”), new opportunities have appeared for the fered by the opening of borders while finding a regions remaining so often on the margins of po- way to tackle these issues and obstacles, it be- litical interest and far away from national capitals. comes necessary to develop and implement inte- The flows of people and goods have offered new grated regional development strategies for cross- potentials for cooperation and development. border functional areas that transcend adminis- Companies, for example, have been able to bene- trative borders and put the citizen at the center fit from foreign expertise and broaden their re- stage. cruitment pool as well as their catchment area, In this context, it is essential to develop a shared while citizens have the freedom to circulate and understanding of these challenges and define take advantage of cross-border opportunities in common objectives for territorial development terms of jobs, vocational training or shopping. within cross-border areas. However, cultural dif- Border regions can benefit from the economic ferences from an administrative, political or even and demographic dynamics of cities located on institutional point of view, in conjunction with lin- the other side of the border. The cooperation be- guistic barriers, can be considerable, preventing tween Copenhagen and Malmö in the framework such strategies from materializing. of Greater Copenhagen, for instance, is centered The first step often involves the establishment of around a concerted effort towards mutually-ben- joint information, exchange and discussion plat- eficial cross-border economic development, al- forms, with the purpose of getting to know each lowing each side to take advantage of what the other, developing an understanding of each other other has to offer: Copenhagen’s metropolitan and overcoming any sense of reticence. area for head offices (higher prices and level of With regards to the Greater Region (Grande Ré- services) and Malmö for back office purposes gion, Groβregion), increased cooperation in the (less expensive). domain of spatial development began in 2009, In more rural, less densely populated areas, cross- based on the commitment to create a polycentric border cooperation provides a way to jointly cross-border metropolitan region. Launched as tackle challenges and issues as part of a process part of the ESPON METROBORDER project, this of mutually-beneficial and common development, political objective is now pursued via the INTER- as illustrated by the examples of public services, REG V A Greater Region project “Territorial Devel- such as schools, daycare centers or even water opment Concept of the Greater Region”, whose treatment plants. The most striking example is goal is to devise a common territorial develop- certainly the Hospital of Cerdanya, which is lo- ment strategy for the entire region. This project cated on the border between Spain and France. brings together scientific, political and technical Greater cooperation within cross-border agglom- stakeholders from all levels, and is carried out in erations and networked development can thus cooperation with the UniGR Centre for Border lead to an increased critical mass for regions and Studies project in order to ensure a wide dissem- cities, from a demographic, economic or infra- ination of acquired knowledge. structural perspective. Despite the inclusion of the concept of territorial While some borders are opening up, others are cohesion as a European Union objective in the being erected. Beyond the opportunities offered Treaty of Lisbon, there are no binding provisions by the opening of borders, freedom of movement in EU law obliging member states to cooperate or 5 exchange in the framework of territorial develop- ment strategies, similar to what currently hap- pens with regards to environmental issues. Cross-border cooperation and territorial develop- ment are voluntary and inherently fragile. As such, it is vital to raise awareness, to provide infor- mation and to exchange with all relevant parties - be they public or private institutions, or even citi- zens themselves - about the opportunities offered by cross-border regional development. The UniGR-Center for Border Studies embraces this dynamic by enabling a wider public to get to know the different facets of borders. “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”