Wielostronna współpraca regionalna i przygraniczna jako czynnik kształtowania jedności europejskiej

Abstract

Thè article presents the problems of regional and border cooperation as the element of shaping the european unity. It is composed of three parts and contains concluding remarks. In the first part the author presents general legal assumptions and legal grounds for such cooperation, reflected in the Constitution of Austria. In the second part the author presents the participation of Austrian states in shaping and functioning of three Working Communities: ARGE-ALP, AGRE Alpen-Adria and AGRE-Donaulaender. In the third part the author presents multilateral and bilateral activities of particular states, and focuses his attention on the period of the early 1990s. In concluding remarks the author summarizes main theses of the analysis. They could be reduced to the statement that regional and border cooperation niay bring many positive effects, especially if it is well prepared and organized. Besides, a decentralized form of the state and the existence of strong regions is a basic prerequisite for the success of such activities, corresponding well with various recommendations and conventions of the Council of Europe.