Abstract Lewkowicz 2

The Development of Euroregions in the Polish-Slovak Border Area

Łukasz Lewkowicz

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to present the factors and circumstances of establishing and functioning of the institutionalized forms of trans-frontier cooperation, which are the Euroregions, on the Polish-Slovak border. The author presents the environmental conditions of trans-frontier cooperation. He includes inter alia the mountainous type of border, the abundance of mineral and thermal springs, other mineral sources, and a great number of protected areas. The social and economic factors are the second group of conditions presented by the author. The demographic potential, as well as the ethnic, national and religious variety of this border region is described. The author concentrates on the variety of cultures,  folklore and the persistence of local traditions. Due to the economic conditions, the transport and communication infrastructures and the commercial cooperation on the borderland are also presented, especially emphasizing the issue of the trans-frontier tourism. The Carpathian, Tatra and Beskid Euroregions, which are established on the Polish-Slovak borderland, are analyzed by the author. He presents a brief characteristic of each Euroregion, particularly emphasizing the functional aspect.

Keywords: Euroregion, trans-frontier cooperation, borderland