Border areas are often posited as “laboratories of European integration.” But what is the significance of the notion of the cross-border region beyond such discourses and symbols? By defining a region as a construct which is at once the construction of an identity, a territory, and an institution which is perpetuated over time, this text identifies and questions the particularities of this process within the cross-border context. The study is based on a discourse analysis, the operational use of the concepts of cross-border territoriality, and the supraregional institution. The legal framework for cooperation, provided by the EGTC (The European Grouping for Territorial Cooperation) in its role as the judicial instrument of the EU, is analyzed in detail.
