Seminar on The Future of Territorial Cooperation in the Enlarged EU

organised by the Development Office of the College of Europe for TECLA (Association for European, local and transnational cooperation) Bruges, 24 June 2004
The College of Europe inaugurated in 2004 a partnership with TECLA, the association of Italian provinces promoting European, local and transnational cooperation, through the organisation of a half day seminar. This training activitiy focused on the analysis of the challenges and opportunities posed to cooperation between levels of government by the enlargement of the EU and the negotiations on the new financial perspectives. This seminar is part of the overall strategy of the College of Europe to address and tackle the training needs of regional and local authorities in the field of EU affairs. 

Participants

The seminar saw the participation of public officials operating all over Italy at the local level in various provinces and municipalities. Participants could benefit both from the lectures delivered by the speakers and the lively and informed exchange of ideas and best practices amongst themselves. 

Moreover, participants interested in more specific operational insights could expand their network and establish new contacts and link up with potential partners for future opportunities of cooperation. 

Programme

Lectures delivered shared the aim to concentrate within a restricted timeframe a consistent and comprehensive set of learning objectives. In this respect, coordination between the two lecturers was paramount in providing a unitary and integrated framework for participants to fully grasp how the process of enlargement, the constitutionalisation of the EU and negotiations on the new financial perspectives might influence relations between levels of government and affect prospects for territorial cooperation. 


The first speaker provided an overview of the latest developments in the process of European integration, focusing in particular on the analysis of the process of enlargement and its implications for local authorities. 


The second speaker exposed his analysis on the future of cohesion policy and territorial cooperation by highlighting the conclusions contained in the Commission’s Third Report on Economic and Social Cohesion, and providing a technical point of view on the INTERREG and INTERACT initiatives. 


The speakers extensively replied to questions posed by participants and made themselves available for future consultation.