|
The term Regio comes from the Latin "regere", meaning to
draw a line or border. In ancient Rome the "Regio" was used
for demarcating an area rather than governing it. It did not
correspond to any legislative or governmental institution.
Even today Euroregions and other forms of transfrontier
co-operation structures do not create a new type of
government at transfrontier level. They do not have
political powers and their work is limited to the
competences of the local and regional authorities which
constitute them.
Within the limits of the geographical scope of
co-operation (the "Regio"), the transfrontier structures are
arrangements for co-operation between units of local or
regional government across the border in order to promote
common interests and enhance the living standards of the
border populations.
The Association of European Border Regions (AEBR) sets
the following criteria for the identification of Euroregions:
An association of local and regional authorities on
either side of the national border, sometimes with a
parliamentary assembly;
A transfrontier association with a permanent secretariat
and a technical and administrative team with own resources;
Of private law nature, based on non-profit-making
associations or foundations on either side of the border in
accordance with the respective national law in force;
Of public law nature, based on inter-state agreements,
dealing among other things, with the participation of
territorial authorities.
It would appear that several "labels" are used which are
categorised under "Euroregions". These include:
Euregio
Euregion
Euroregion
Europaregion
Grand Region
Regio
Council
In some cases the label "Euroregion" is not used at all,
such as the "Nova Raetia" which is composed of territorial
communities of Switzerland, Italy and Austria.
The terms "Regio" and "Euroregions" are also used for
national border associations created by the municipalities
and counties. This is the case with the Czech Klub
Euroregion Labe, the German Euroregio Egrensis
Arbeitsgemeinschaft Bayern and the German Inn-Salzach
Euregio e.V. (association of Bavarian municipalities) and
many others.
|