Inter-border Cooperation in the Area of Serres Prefecture and Consequences of the EU Bulgaria Accession – An Empirical Research

Abstract

The enlargement of the European Union to twenty five (25) member states (2004) resulted in greater inequalities between European regions and subsequent expansions in other countries of south-east Europe may exacerbate these inequalities. These regional disparities in the enlarged EU must be reduced and dealt with an effective cohesion policy, part of which is the development of cross-border cooperation. According to the European Outline Convention of Madrid (1980), trans-frontier cooperation means any agreed transaction intended to encourage and cultivate the relationships between neighbouring local authorities of two or more parties. Euroregions promote cross-border cooperation between border regions and social partners in areas such as culture, education, tourism and the economy. From a purely economic standpoint, the preservation of natural or “invisible” borders is an obstacle to economic development. Since “invisible barriers” (languages, cultural problems, etc.) are hard to eliminate, the need to turn the boundaries in contact zones is stressed. These areas should be “bridges between states”, “channels for the mutual understanding of peoples”, “prosperity borders” and “cradles of development”. Factors that promote cross-border cooperation is, among others, the tradition and experience in collaboration, adequate common mechanisms by local authorities, the availability of sufficient financial resources, etc. On the contrary, factors that impede this cooperation are legal restrictions, disputes about the responsibility of the various levels of government, the limited experience of local authorities in the implementation of development programs, etc. It is estimated that, regarding the economic situation of regions bordering to candidate countries and the potential consequences of EU enlargement on them, the border areas of Greece and especially continental border areas, are among the least favoured regions, since they are faced with the most difficult situation regarding income, labour market dynamics, infrastructure and human resources. The prefecture of Serres, a border region, according to the predictions of General and Regional Framework for Physical Planning, is indented to become a regional growth pole of the trans- border cooperation.

In this paper, based on the results of empirical research in institutions of Serres, we examine the collaboration of institutions of Serres with their respective Bulgarian ones. More particularly we explore areas of cooperation, opportunities and obstacles, results, and impacts on Serres by the accession of Bulgaria to the EU. The majority of institutions consider Bulgaria's endorsement to the EU as a positive progress for Serres and the extended region. Half or more of the institutions began their collaboration after the Bulgarian accession, aiming mainly to economic-development benefits and the exchange of experience and expertise, in fields of environment, culture, education, employment, entrepreneurship, etc.