Conference Paper

Originating from the will of populations and institutions from different states, institutionalised forms of cross‐border cooperation have been developed with the main aim of confronting common problems in border regions and areas. This phenomenon has lead to the concept of the Euroregion. The notion of ‘Euroregion’ was originally employed for a very specific type of cooperation arrangement; it was later extended to a broader range of initiatives. The enlarged EU has been encouraging the creation of regional forms of the decentralisation of power, in economic and cultural fields in particular. This chapter provides an overview of the concept of cross‐border cooperation with regard to its many structures, its legal basis and examples of practical implementation, with a particular focus on the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC). In order to demonstrate its practical implications, this chapter also provides examples of the cross‐border cooperation initiatives between Italy and Slovenia.