Sylwia Dołzbłasz

Abstract

The work detailed in this article sought to determine the nature of the transborder cooperation ongoing in Poland’s eastern borderland, focusing in particular on the transborder network. Research encompassed analysis of the scope of cooperation in terms of subject matter and type of beneficiary, as well as analysis of the transborder cooperation network using SNA. All beneficiaries and projects pursued under the Poland-Belarus-Ukraine 2007-2013 Cross-Border Cooperation Programme within the framework of the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument were examined. Cooperation structures in the Polish-Ukrainian-Belarusian borderland area were then compared with those in the Polish-Czech and Polish-Slovak border areas. Results showed that, while the pursuit of common projects contributed to intensified connections in the Polish-Belarusian-Ukrainian borderland area, the transborder cooperation is much influenced by the strong formalisation of the EU’s external border, and by formal-legal regulations in the neighbouring countries. The cooperation network in the eastern borderland of Poland thus differs greatly from those in the south.

Keywords: transborder network, cross-border cooperation, EU external border, Poland-Belarus-Ukraine borderland

Sylwia Dołzbłasz [sylwia.dolzblasz@ uwr.edu.pl], Uniwersytet Wrocławski, Instytut Geografii i Rozwoju Regionalnego