This article proposes a systematic analysis of the Interreg IV A projects related to cross-border territorial development which were conducted along Europe's internal borders between 2007 and 2013. It reveals the diversity of the initiatives and shows that they can be separated into different categories according to whether they aim to (1) create or improve networks between actors, (2) produce territorial observations, (3) develop strategies or, finally, (4) produce tangible for the public at cross-border level.
Continuing training is an essential component of the labour market in the Greater Region and of the Lisbon Strategy. And yet it is a reality that is hard to harmonise at European level and one which resists statistical analysis. Only the European statistical surveys, in particular the labour force surveys, get anywhere a satisfactory degree of comparability of the indicators. They indicate the insufficiencies and imperfections of the continuing training systems in the Greater Region. Thus rates of participation were stagnating in the different components of the Greater Region at the end of the period, and even falling in Luxembourg and Wallonia, remaining below the European target of 12.5%. The allocation of continuing training efforts appears to be suboptimal insofar as it is the best rained works in large companies that have the best access to continuing training (cf. "all other things being equal" analysis). As for the content of the continuous training, an excessive focus on the current workstation means there is a risk of failing to meet the European target on "flexicurity". If the continuing training systems in the Greater Region have some identical features, the differences are worthy of note.
For example there is a more pronounced openness in the Luxembourg and Walloon systems, which allows for training that is less connected to the current post and extends outside of working hours. Lorraine stood out for its higher rate of participation at the end of the period, although this comes at the price of shorter training courses. In 2020, continuing training remains a challenge for Europe and the Greater region, with a target of 15%. Even more so as the current economic difficulties risk curbing efforts in continuing training, even though they are a lever for emerging from the crisis.
This article aims at evaluating the democratic status and prospects of the strategic, institutional and cooperative level within CBRs, based on a case study of the Øresund Region, situated on the border between Denmark and Sweden, and complemented with secondary evidences from other CBRs. The following questions are asked:
Do the strategies promoted have a democratic scope?
Are institutions reasonably accountable, in a traditional sense, to citizen within the region?
Is the concrete cooperation inclusive of broad categories of citizens?
