Trans-border interregional alliances hi Europe :toward fading away national boundaries of regional identities?

In the uniting Europe, numerous local and regional authorities iii border zones have proclaimed so-called Euroregions as territorial frameworks for trans-border co-operation and integration. Development of these trans-border regions is endorsed by the states and promoted by the pan-European organisations Council of Europe and European Union. In particular since the European Union's INTERREG Programs have started in 1990, trans-border regions are proliferating along the internal and external borders of the EU and its future Central European extension. Regarding their institutional structure and the nature of internal co-operation and integration the myriad of trans-border regions is extremely diverse. This may be partly attributed to differences in stage of development, but it is not realistic to assume that they are au developing toward a uniform outcome. From a processual point of view, opportunity, endorsement and promotion of trans-border regions and the related discourses have become an active force in the regional dynamics of border zones, of which direction and outcomes are channelled by structural conditions and the agendas of regional actors. A contemporary trend in the territorial political organisation of Europe is a growing significance of regions.Regions should be considered as social constructions that can be built up, modified or disappear. Although this implies that regions are not historically or culturally determined, history and culture can provide for potent cognitive and discursive sources for construction of regions, such as regional self-awareness and ideological platforms to supply political legitimacy. From this perspective the question is easily raised whether the boost given to proliferation of trans-border regions, has spread seeds for potential trans-border regions with a strong regional identity and a political significance. In particular those border areas where historical regions and ethnic populations are split by international boundaries seem to have structural conditions to be potential breeding grounds for such a development. A combination of cultural-linguistic bonds of similarity linked with ethno-nationalist ideologies can provide for appealing cognitive and discursive sources. Regions in concerning border-zones often have a recent history of regional assertiveness and corresponding gain of political independence that gives regional actors more freedom to manoeuvre. Against this background, development of trans-border regions in three areas will be dealt with in this contribution. The three cases are: the Belgian-German border zone, which has the German-speaking Community at the Belgian side; the Basque Country in Spain and France and the area of the former Habsburg province of Tyrol that covers the Austrian federal land of Tirol and the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy.395

German-speaking in Belgium and Italy :two different autonomy arrangements

This contribution demonstrates how different regional, national and international contextual conditions of the Gern1an-speaking minorities in Belgium and in Italy have led to different autonomy arrangements. The two autonomy arrangements are accomrnodated in the state structure in different ways as a result of different balances between the centrifugal capacities of the concerning German-speaking minority and the centripetal capacities of the concerning state. In this respect, also the roles of Austria or Germany have had different impacts. Despite considerable differences in the autonomy arrangements, the two cases have in common that a combination ofterritorial and non-territorial principles were applied. Especially in the multi-ethnic homeland ofthe German-speaking in Italy, a combination ofterritorial and non-territorial elements seems to be adequate. Especially for non-territorial elements of autonomy the presence of a German-speaking neighbour country has been an important enabling condition.597

Persistence and changes in the peripheral Beles basin of Ethiopia

We have investigated the relevance of the notion of "peripheralism" in the Beles basin. In this lowland border area of Ethiopia, important investments require an evaluation of their socio-economic and ecological impacts in the light of Ethiopia's Climate-Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) strategy. We contrasted literature of different periods with field observations. In the middle and lower parts of the basin, the Gumuz people traditionally practised shifting cultivation. Resettlement of highlanders is particularly linked to water and land resources. A large irrigation project was initiated in the 1980s, but vegetables and fruits face post-harvest losses. Large water transfers from Lake Tana since 2010 affect the movement of people, the hydrogeomorphology, and ecology of the river. In several parts of the basin, the settlers' economy now dominates. Many Gumuz became sedentary but maintained their agricultural system, particularly in the south of the lower basin. Land titling allowed allocation of "vacant" areas to transnational or domestic investors. As a result, the semi-natural vegetation is frequently replaced by open cropland, leading to decreased carbon storage and increased soil erosion. This and water abstraction for irrigation jeopardise hydropower production, in contradiction with the CRGE objectives. Despite the recent developments, the contrasts in economic activity make the core-periphery dichotomy to remain actual in the Beles basin. The resettlements and permanent cropping tend to make the upper basin part of the core. However, the installation of a transit road and commercial farms in the lower basin do not allow to consider that a non-peripheral integration has taken place