The Cross-Border Cooperation Tool-Box of EU Cohesion Policy

The paper presents the 35-year evolution of the cooperation tool-box of the Cohesion Policy. The authors give an overview on the history of the financial (Interreg) and the governance (Euroregions and EGTCs) tools, and introduce the debate on a mechanism designed to facilitate the elimination of legal and administrative obstacles. The last debate indicates the climate change within European Territorial Cooperation policy generated by the series of crises since 2015.The paper uses sources of information based on desk research (studies, evaluations, official documents and adopted regulations) and experiences gained from the management, implementation and evaluation of cross-border programmes and projects and adapts this knowledge in an interdisciplinary way, with a special focus on legal and political scientific aspects. As a conclusion, the paper raises concerns about the future of European Territorial Cooperation objective of the Cohesion Policy.