Many of today’s challenges are shared across countries and regions. Demographic change, housing pressures, climate adaptation and other ongoing developments call for collaboration and joint solutions. How can regions work together to tackle challenges that extend beyond national borders?
The newly finalised project on ‘Interreg Transnational Programmes: needs and opportunities for the future cooperation‘ (TNCOOP) offers fresh insights into these questions. The project, carried out under ESPON, led by ÖIR with Nordregio as one of the consortium partners, has produced a comprehensive set of analyses, maps and datasets covering all 13 Interreg transnational programme areas across Europe together with one report covering the whole transnational cooperation strand.
The results support reflection on the future of Interreg transnational cooperation in the post-2027 Cohesion Policy period. The reports can be found on the ESPON website, while maps based on collected datasets are publicly available in the ESPON portal.
A European picture of regional change
Europe’s regions are experiencing major transformations. Some areas are growing rapidly, while others face population decline. The green and digital transitions are creating new opportunities but also new pressures. At the same time, geopolitical developments and economic uncertainty are reshaping the conditions for regional development.
To better understand these trends, the TNCOOP project brought together territorial data from across Europe and analysed how regions are developing, where common challenges exist, and how cooperation can help address them. The analysis covers a wide range of themes, including demographic trends, innovation, housing, environmental sustainability, transport connectivity, governance and citizen engagement.
Evidence on territorial dynamics and cooperation patterns
A key output of TNCOOP is a set of 13 programme profiles, one for each Interreg transnational programme area in the 2021–2027 period. Together, these profiles provide a comparable picture of territorial development across Europe from the Arctic to the Mediterranean. The project also produced an overarching analysis examining the role and added value of transnational cooperation more broadly within EU Cohesion Policy.
“By bringing together comparable territorial evidence and programme-level analysis, TNCOOP supports the European Commission and transnational programme managing authorities in fostering a more informed discussion on the post-2027 period,” says Jonas Kačkus Tybjerg, Research Fellow at Nordregio.
The analyses combine statistical data with input from programme authorities, stakeholders and experts, helping to connect territorial trends with practical experiences from cooperation across Europe. They address three main areas of relevance for future programming:
- strengthening the territorial focus of transnational programmes
- enhancing synergies with other Interreg strands and EU instruments
- identifying emerging challenges and cooperation needs for the post-2027 period
“The project identified where transnational cooperation generates the greatest added value, highlights emerging needs and opportunities, and explores how it can be further developed in the next programming period," Jonas Kačkus Tybjerg adds.
Looking beyond 2027
For more than 25 years, transnational Interreg programmes have supported cooperation across Europe and neighbouring regions. As preparations for Cohesion Policy beyond 2027 advance, it is time to reflect on how these programmes can be further strengthened in the future.
In this context, TNCOOP feeds into the discussions about the role, scope and added value of transnational cooperation and Interreg.
The results also offer a valuable resource for researchers, policymakers and practitioners interested in regional development and territorial cooperation across Europe.
Explore the resources
All project outputs, including programme profiles, maps, visualisations and datasets, are available through the ESPON website and the ESPON Portal.
TNCOOP was led by the Austrian Institute for Regional Studies (ÖIR) and carried out in partnership with the European Policies Research Centre (EPRC), Nordregio, and the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw).
See all reports on the ESPON website
Browse maps in the ESPON portal
Links to programme fiches
TNCOOP Resources
TNCOOP covers all 13 Interreg transnational programme areas for the 2021-2027 period. See the programme-specific fiches here:
- North Sea
- Northern Periphery and Arctic
- Baltic Sea Region
- North West Europe
- Alpine Space
- Central Europe
- Atlantic Area
- South West Europe (SUDOE)
- Danube Region
- Euro Mediterranean Area (Euro-MED)
- IPA Adriatic-Ionian (ADRION)
- NEXT Black Sea Basin
- NEXT Mediterranean Sea
For an overarching analysis of transnational cooperation and more information about the TNCOOP approach and methodology, read more here:
All links take you to the ESPON website.
