Dr. Tamar Arieli (p)

This study evaluates patterns of municipal cross-border cooperation (hereinafter CBC) between the cities of Aqaba (Jordan) and Eilat (Israel), situated side-by-side at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba. This cross-border municipal environment had a special place in the vision for ‘good neighborly relations’ outlined in the 1994 Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty. Notwithstanding this vision, the ongoing regional conflict and the context of cold Israeli-Jordan relations is reflected in the dearth of civilian initiatives and the dominance of political and security authorities.
Aqaba-Eilat municipal cross-border ties are reviewed through documentary analysis and field research including participant observation at municipal and cross-border settings - seaports, border-crossing points, tourist operations and environmental activities. Conversations with stakeholders (residents, entrepreneurs, national and local government, and security officials) allow a sector-based analysis of perceptions and interests focused on the border. These reveal the delicate, almost underground, cross-border interactions which somewhat rescale this cross-border municipal region.

Dr. Marie-France Gaunard-Anderson (p)

The Greater Region that includes five regions belonging to four countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg), has a lot of cross-border relations. These cooperations bring together different levels of public authorities, from national to regional and local governments. It aims to develop a coherent space, to build a common cross-border living area and reduce the barriers created by the border. The EU encourages the development of cross-border relations as they are part of the European integration process; they contribute to economic and social cohesion and stability beyond borders.
This analysis will focus on relations between local authorities on the Franco-Luxembourg border. Many municipalities are building links with their counterparts on the other side of the border. They become true diplomats by negotiating common development strategies with their neighboring municipalities. The objectives are numerous, such as encouraging harmonious development of territories by offering complementary facilities to their populations but also knowing your neighbors better and developing a cross-border identity. Cooperation increasingly leads to the creation of institutionalized bodies within which different political orientations are defined, development plans are drafted jointly at different scales (from the regional scale to the local scale for the agglomerations of the European Development Pole of Longwy, Esch-Belval, city networks, etc.). The legal framework has evolved over recent decades; new tools have been defined by the European Union and by the States (EGTC, LCCG -Local cross-border cooperation grouping, Eurodistrict, etc.). Financial tools such as the ERDF and the INTERREG program also encourage this rapprochement between communities across borders. This local approach is part of multi-level cross-border governance and contributes, through the international links that are being forged, to the development of a form of paradiplomacy.
This study proposes to show, based on several case studies, how relations between local governments began, what the objectives and concrete achievements have been, and also the obstacles encountered, possible improvements and future prospects.

Mr Zoltán Pámer (p)

For a long time, the traditional method of cross-border cooperation was the establishment of twinnig partnerships, which has a long history in Europe. The development of inter-municipal cooperation began after the First World War, but it gained serious momentum after World War II, when, in order to rebuild Europe and create a global order based on peaceful cooperation. The Romanian revolution in 1989 opened the border, twinning between Hungarian and Romanian municipalities has emerged: 33% of the Hungarian local governments had a Romanian twinning partner in 2002 (Giczi, Sík, 2014). This led to forming euroregions and, recently, EGTCs. which is reflecting the diversity of this long border section. Ethnic character is an important element of cooperation (Benczi, 2023), however Interreg cross-border cooperation programmes promote rather thematic cooperation, which needs a different approach than traditional twinning.
The study aims to identify the territorial patterns of twin town cooperation along the Hungary-Romania border, point out the relationship between twin town cooperation and project-based cooperation: which twinning partnerships proved to be successful on project-level as well. for the analysis the twinning database of the National Association of Local Governments of Hungary was used, as well as the project-level database of the Interreg V-A Romani-Hungary 2014-2020 programme. The results underline the added value of an existing twinning in project-based cooperation, highlighting the role of major cities and their institutions, which are the key for sustainable cooperation in the border area.