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CENTROPE and its peers
CENTROPE is one of only a few cross-border metropolitan regions in Europe, which are unique in their high degree of urbanisation and economic clout. Joint location development, large-scale commuting and labour market management are some of the themes that bind these cross-border initiatives together.
The similarities between these cross-border regions concern not only their innate positive characteristics but also the challenges they have to face. Close job market interconnections and successful joint location marketing, as achieved by the Öresund Region; highly developed technology clusters and a successful focus on the knowledge economy, as in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine; or effective management of functional and infrastructure transformation, as in the Eurométropole Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai – these are but a few best practices from regions that are comparable to CENTROPE.
Being able to learn from and compare similar experiences in fields like governance, urban growth or co-operation in research and innovation represents an important opportunity to further develop the cross-border initiative. For this reason, the CENTROPE Capacity project has started a peer exchange initiative, which permitted the sharing of experiences with similar transnational entities in Europe in the context of three workshops. Inter alia, the main lessons to be learned from these “peers” concern the questions of how to define the cross-border co-operation framework without infringing the competencies of local structures, how to identify and pursue a comprehensive development strategy, and how to actively strive for a common identity.
The final product of this initiative is the peer review report, which will provide the partners involved with an overview of the exchange as well as with many specific examples of activities implemented by these cross-border regions.
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